Rs 1,000 cr investment over next 3 yrs in TN: Idea Cellular

Idea Cellular, part of the Aditya Birla Group, operating in 18 circles in the country, has allocated Rs 1,000 crore as investments in Tamil Nadu for the next three years, a top company official said here on Thursday.

Speaking after unveiling the company's GSM launch here, Idea Cellular Ltd Chief Marketing Officer Pradeep Shrivastava said the investment is part of its plan to be a pan-India telecom operator by the end of this year.

The company, which launched its services in Maharashtra and Gujarat circles in 1997, had launched eight circles in the last two years alone and now operates in 18 circles, he said.

"We will be launching the GSM service in Kolkata, Jammu and Kashmir and North East (telecom circles) over the next few months", said.

Claiming that they are a market leader in Kerala and the second biggest telecom operator in Andhra Pradesh, he said the company now has 47 million customers.

The company has already launched GSM operations in Tamil Nadu on May 25, he said.