The Hindu Business Line : Idea plans Rs 1,000 cr for rollout in 3 circles

IDEA Cellular on Tuesday said that it is gearing up to start services in the east Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh circles in the next five months and will invest an estimated Rs 1,000 crore to roll out is cell sites in these circles.

The company is also keenly awaiting DoT clearances and the availability of spectrum for the Mumbai market where it wants to be a player, Mr Vikram Mehmi, CEO, told newspersons.

Idea is already operational in eight circles and while it will go into the three new proposed circles as the fourth or fifth player, it will be the seventh player in the Mumbai market.

Meanwhile, the company, which closed last year with revenues of Rs 2,400 crore and net profit of Rs 74 crore, expects to double profits in the current year, said Mr Mehmi.

Idea has chalked out plans to aggressively expand its footprints and will invest upwards of Rs 1,200 crore by March 2006 to take its coverage to 2,500 towns across the country.

The company also has a grameen phone business model currently at concept developing stage, using which it will seek to penetrate rural markets by providing phones to the rural poor who will use it to both enhance their own earnings while simultaneously providing connectivity to residents in these villages, said Mr Laxminarayan, Circle Head, Maharashtra and Goa.

"We are looking at the return on investments and other aspects just now and will roll out the scheme in villages and towns in the Maharashtra and Goa circles in a few months."

Idea, meanwhile, has touched the 16-lakh-customer base level in the Maharashtra and Goa circles.

Mr Mehmi said that it is gearing up to invest a further Rs 150 crore before the end of the current fiscal to extend coverage across 450 towns and State highways.

The company is also in the process of doubling the number of call centres from one in each circle with a view to faster resolution of issues for customers.

Also on the anvil are increasing the distribution network from the current level of 15,600 and adding to the number of exclusive Idea n U showrooms to take it to the level of 90, he added.