Bharti to install 10,000 transceiver stations

GSM service provider Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd is to install an additional 10,000 base transceiver stations (BTS), a transmission and reception link for a mobile communication systems, this year.

The company, which operates under the brand name Airtel, is targeting to increase its subscriber base to one million in Mumbai region by the year-end.

"We are adding another 10,000 BTSs in the country, which would be spread across all our 23 circles. This is to increase our service quality, keeping in customer delight in mind," executive director Vinod Sawhny said.

He, however, did not divulge the estimated investment, but analysts estimate an outgo of a minimum of Rs 6,000 per BTS, which might increase depending on its capacity. This means that Bharti is likely to invest a minimum of Rs 6 crore.

The increase in number of BTS, which are also termed as cell sites, would be equivalent to the total number of the base stations set up in the country. At present, Airtel has a total of around 10,000 BTS in the country.

Of the total 10,000 cell sites, around 30 per cent would be installed in the western region, comprising Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Even though, Mumbai falls under the western region, Bharti intends to set up only capacity addition sites to handle increase in traffic.

At present, Bharti has around 800,000 subscribers in the western region and is planning to increase it to one million by the end of this year.

The company expects to achieve this through its recently launched entry-level recharge coupons that were priced at Rs 200, with a one-month validity.

The company today launched its Experience Zone that permits users to "experience and buy value added services in Mumbai, and intends to add another 10 showrooms in a "shortly".