Idea Cellular enters Kolkata, West Bengal market

Kolkata : Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company, launched its GSM mobile services in Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal today.

With this Idea became a pan-India player with 98 pc coverage of the telephony potential of the country, claimed the company.
In keeping with the recent brand campaign, Idea brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan came in 'Walking and Talking' to the launch ceremony here, in a symbolic gesture to flag off the services.

'The launch of our services in Kolkata and West Bengal marks near completion of our mission to become pan-India operator by 2010. Idea is the fastest growing mobile operator in India and I am confident that our high quality network and services will enhance mobile experience for the 'City of Joy' and the rest of the state,' said Ambrish Jain, Director-Operations, Idea Cellular Ltd.

The under-penetrated region of West Bengal with mobile penetration of just 24 pc, in contrast to the highly competitive market of Kolkata metro with a high mobile teledensity of 73 pc, has been identified as a strategic market by Idea.

According to Jain, Idea's initial network of 1, 150 cell sites will progressively grow to a network of over 2,800 cell sites to cover more than 8,200 towns and villages by the end of March 2010.

Idea's 2.75G EDGE enabled network will cover 8 major districts-Hoogly, Burdwan, Murshidabad, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Bankura and Purulia, during the launch phase, and will be expanded to cover 22 districts of West Bengal and Sikkim, before the end of current financial year.

'We have made an investment of Rs 600 crores in the current fiscal for the Kolkata and West Bengal chapter, and will invest Rs 1,200 crore in the next 3 years to strengthen our GSM services here,' Jain said at the launch.
As per the company plans, the Idea service network will comprise of over 29,000 retail outlets and 156 showrooms across the state by March 2010.

Idea is also introducing two billing plans for its subscribers.

'We are the first operator to offer billings as per customer choices. Subscribers can choose either 1p/min or 40p/min billing for 365 days without paying for any power vouchers or tariffs,' a company spokesperson said.
Idea Cellular has a subscriber base of over 51 million across the country. The company has recently launched services in Jammu and Kashmir and will soon launch operations in Assam and North East, thereby making its presence felt in all 22 telecom circles in the country.