Aircel to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh in 2009

Telecom player Aircel Ltd will invest Rs 1,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh by December 2009, as part of its $5 billion pan-India expansion plan spread over the next three to five years.
Gurdeep Singh, CEO, Aricel, which is part of the Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia and Apollo Hospitals group, said that Rs 500 crore has already been invested as part of the first phase of expansion in Andhra Pradesh. The rest will be invested by the end of this year, he said, while announcing the launch of the company's GSM services in the state. Aircel is also in talks with other cell phone operators to offer bundled services, he said.
"We currently have a national subscriber base of 17 million. About 10 million are in Tamil Nadu and the rest is split between the 11 circles including those in the north-eastern part of the country. We expect this to grow to 30 million by 2009-end," said Singh. He said that the company is looking to expand its presence to 18 circles by next April and achieve a double digit market share nationally in the next three years, from the present 5%.
Singh said that the investment of Rs 1,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh will be used to build base stations, install switches and intelligent network, create a data centre and set up offices, besides enhancing retail presence.
The initial phase of expansion, targeted for completion by May, envisions 450 stations for Hyderabad and Secunderabad. This will be scaled up to 1,000 base stations, covering all major cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Warangal and Kadapa, in the ensuing 60 days, and touch 2,000 stations by the year-end.
The number of self-service kiosks will be increased from four to 20 during the same time, said Singh.
Expansion essentials
and#149; The investment is part of Aircel's $5 billion pan-India expansion plan spread over 3-5 years
and#149; The amount will be used to build base stations, install switches, create a data centre and enhance retail presence
and#149; Aircel aims to set up 2,000 stations in AP by the year-end