Airtel crosses 2-mn mark in M'rashtra, Goa

Airtel has crossed the 2-million-subscriber mark in the Maharashtra and Goa circle in four-and-a-half years, Mandeep Bhatia, COO, Bharti Airtel Limited (Mobile Services), Maharashtra & Goa circle, said.

The company is in the process of spreading the network to cover all towns with a population of over 10,000 people in the circle.

"We have invested Rs 750 crore in the circle till date. This year, we have installed 850 towers and by the end of March, we plan to install an additional 200 towers. This will take the total number of towers from 1,400 at the beginning of the year to 2,400 by March 2007," said Bhatia adding that the average cost of a tower was between Rs 35 lakh and 50 lakh.

Airtel currently covers over 600 locations, 12 national and state highways with the largest network of over 2,000 base stations.

Besides driving penetration with better coverage, the company also recently rolled out its 50 paise outgoing scheme for the Maharashtra and Goa circle including Mumbai.

"Airtel is committed to drive mobile penetration in Maharashtra and Goa with focus on three key growth engines - network, innovation and value for money propositions," said Bhatia.

Commemorating the 2-million-subscriber milestone, Airtel launched its feature-rich Blackberry Pearl smartphone in Maharashtra and Goa priced at Rs 24,990.

The cost of service, depending upon the usage and calling pattern, will range from Rs 499 to Rs 1,099 per month. It is currently available in key cities in the Maharashtra and Goa circle like Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Goa, Vasai and Solapur and is backed by a 24X7 call centre reachable at 7070.