Airtel plans to invest over Rs 150 crore in Gujarat

Airtel will invest over Rs 150 crore in the state to strengthen its network.

The company has a subscriber base of around 1.50 lakh at the end of the calendar year 2003. Airtel aims at crossing the three lakh mark by the end of the current year.

"Airtel operates mobile services in 16 of the 23 circles in India and our aim all across the country is either to be the leader or among the top two. That will be a reality in Gujarat soon as Airtel will be among the top two operators in the state," said Atul Joshi, chief operating officer, Gujarat circle, Bharti Cellular Ltd.

Joshi said very soon Airtel will cross the three lakh mark in the state.

"The investment in Gujarat will definitely be huge. It will mainly go in strengthening our network further, a strategy that we have been pursuing for the past few months. The investment in Gujarat this year will definitely be more than the investment of around Rs 150 crore last year," Joshi said.

According to Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) figures, Bharti Cellular Ltd doubled its subscriber base in Gujarat between June and November, 2003.

The number of Airtel customers crossed the 1.40 lakh mark by November 2003 from about 74,000 in June 2003.

As of April 2004, the number of Airtel subscribers in Gujarat had crossed the 2.45 lakh mark.

"We already have over 500 cell sites all across the state and these will be increased further during the year. All the major highways, rail routes and remote areas will be covered by the Bharti network, making our network among the most comprehensive in Gujarat," Joshi said.

He said the Airtel billing system is rated among the best in the world and even other cellular operators are attempting to switch to the billing system used by Airtel.

New ILD scheme launched: Targetting the huge Gujarati population in the US, Canada and parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Airtel on Thursday launched 'Pardes' pack, a pre-paid scheme that offers a slew of benefits to international callers.

Using the Pardes pack, pre-paid customers can make calls to the US, Canada and landlines in Europe at Rs 7.99 per minute, which translates into savings of 52 per cent, the company said.

Calls made to the Middle East and Africa will be charged at Rs 12.99 per minute, enabling customers to make savings of up to 35 per cent, the company said.

International long distance calls originating from Gujarat to the US, Canada and European countries contribute more than one-third of Airtel Gujarat's ILD revenue.

Calls originating from Gujarat to the Middle East and Africa contribute an additional one-third to Airtel's Gujarat ILD kitty.

"The launch of the Airtel Pardes pack represents our latest endeavour to make ILD affordable to the masses. I am confident that the pack will find special appeal across the entire spectrum of mobile users," said Atul Joshi, chief operating officer, Gujarat circle, Bharti Cellular Ltd.