Idea adds 5 lakh subscribers in 2005-06

Mobile phone service provider, Idea Cellular, has added 5 lakh new subscribers in the Maharashtra and Goa circle in the year 2005-06, taking the total number of its subscribers in the circle to over 1.8 million.

Lakshmi Narayana, head of Maharahstra & Goa circle for Idea Cellular, said recently that the total subscriber base for Idea in the country is now more than 7 million. He said that pre-paid customers still formed a huge 80 per cent of these subscribers.

Disclosing that the company has added 300 new cell sites in the circle, Lakshmin Narayana said the coverage is now extended to 32 out of the 33 districts of Maharashtra in addition to national and state highway coverage.

"The company is constantly investing in installing cell sites as well as introducing new features," he said.

Lakshmi Narayana said the value-added services offered by the company are getting significant response and the revenue from these services is adding to the topline.

Reacting to a query about the challenge of the WiFi enablement of Pune city and many other locations, he said the WIFi technology is yet to prove itself.

Besides, the WiFi and GSM technologies are different from each other and both have their advantages and drawbacks which the user has to balance, he said.