Hutch to invest $26m on Bengal network

Hutchison Essar has acquired the West Bengal licence and plans to invest $26 million in the state.

Sandip Das, executive director said, "The wireless teledensity in West Bengal at 0.48 per cent, represents a significant opportunity for growth. This acquisition is an important part of our expansion into eastern India."

The company also acquired licence for Sikkim. With this, Hutchison Essar's footprint in the country now spans 13 circles.

Das said, "We will also be investing aggressively to strengthen our national network and customer service capabilities. We doubled our subscriber base last year. We expect significant growth again."

Hutchison Essar doubled its national subscriber base from two million to four million in the last one year. The company would be investing Rs 1,800 crore to strengthen its national cellular infrastructure, IT backbone, customer service network and provide innovative value added services.

Hutchison would be beefing up its manpower in Kolkata by adding another 200-250 people. The existing strength was around 340.

Das said, the equipment vendor was still under finalisation.