Idea starts mobile service in Himachal

Idea Cellular Ltd entered Himachal Pradesh by launching its service in six major towns of the state today. An Aditya Birla group company, it has now become the sixth player to enter the already crowded cellular market of the hill state.

"Our services are now available in Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Kullu, Baddi and Sundernagar in the first phase launched today," said Vikram Mehmi, president and CEO of Idea.

"In the second phase, services will be available in Manali, Kufri, Chail, Kasauli, Parwanoo, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Nalagarh towns, besides the critical Kalka-Shimla and Mandi-Manali highways, which have a high volume of tourists," he said.

"We have already spent Rs 85 crore in the state and plan to spend Rs 200 crore by the end of the second phase expansion plan, which will be over in the next couple of months," said Mehmi.

The company is installing 110 cell sites by the end of the second phase, of which 45 are already completed.

Asked why the firm entered the overcrowded mobile market in the state, Mehmi said, "Working on the latest GSM technology, Idea will charge 60 paise per minute for calls from mobile to mobile, SMS, and landlines. The rate for STD calls will remain the same." "We are sure of getting customers, who have so far been paying much higher rates," Mehmi said.

Idea also claims to be the only operator in the hill state to launch GPRS and edge technology on both prepaid and postpaid services. Another company executive told Business Standard the main reason for the entry of Idea into an already crowded mobile market of the state was for the benefit of existing Idea customers across the country, who visit various holiday resorts of the state.

Idea claims to have 9 million customers in the country and it has applied for licences for 12 new circles of the country, including Chandigarh and Punjab.