April 28, 2014

Indian telecom service provider Idea Cellular said it will spend Rs. 3,500 crore towards capex in FY 2015. It said 3G will be unveiled in Delhi next year, while 4G in 8 mobile circles will depend on demand and tech stabilization.

The Aditya Birla group company has invested Rs. 1,294 crore in Q4 FY 2014 alone. In FY 2014, Idea Cellular invested substantially in 3G network roll outs.

Idea Cellular’s 3G base stations have gone up to 21,381 in FY 2014 from 17,140 in FY 2013 and 12,825 in FY 2012. On the other hand, its 2G base stations have increased to 104,778 in FY 2014, 90,094 in FY 2013 and 83,190 in FY 2012.

In Q4 2014 alone, Idea Cellular has rolled out 3,178 2G cell sites and 1,477 3G cell sites.

The company is planning to launch 3G services in Delhi in 2015 on the recently acquired 900 MHz spectrum. Post Delhi 3G service launch, the 3G foot-print of Idea will cover around 80 per cent of its current revenue and nearly 57 per cent of national mobile industry revenue.

Idea Cellular says its 4G launch in Kerala (10 MHz), Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana and North East will depend on consumer demand, technology stabilisation and competitors move in these telecom circles.

During the recent auction, Idea Cellular acquired the 45 MHz contiguous spectrum in 1800 MHz (out of 60.2 MHz it won in 1800 MHz) in these 8 service areas. Idea Cellular says these 8 service areas represent nearly 58.1 per cent of Idea revenue and an opportunity of upgrade to LTE service to existing 74.7 million Idea subscribers.