Idea plans USD250 million network investment

Idea Cellar has announced that it will spend as much as USD250 million expanding its network in the western state of Gujarat. ‘We are looking at the market very carefully and plan to invest in expanding our network in Gujarat,’ Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla told reporters at the opening of a supermarket. The cellco, which operates in eleven of the country’s 23 telecom circles, recently entered into a tower sharing agreement with Vodafone Essar and Bharti. Last December the three companies revealed plans to merge their tower operations into a single company. The new company, Indus Towers, manages 70,000 towers on a passive infrastructure basis. Vodafone and Bharti own approximately 42% each, while Idea owns the remaining 16%.