Aircel to enter Mumbai Circle

After Idea Cellular, it’s the turn of Aircel to enter the lucrative Mumbai circle. Just a few days after clearing Idea’s application for a Mumbai foray, the department of telecommunications (DoT) is learnt to have given a nod to Aircel as well.

Besides Mumbai, Aircel will be permitted to go to Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, according to a source. DoT has given an in-principle approval to Aircel’s entry into these seven circles.

In a statement at its recent annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Maxis Communications, which is a Malaysian mobile operator with a majority stake in its Indian joint venture Aircel, said, “as part of its strategy to be a pan-Indian player, Aircel has applied for mobile licenses in the remaining 11 circles.”

Interestingly, even Idea put in its applications to DoT recently for a pan-India presence.

Aircel is the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu. It also operates in West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North-East, and Jammu & Kashmir. The company is also planning to roll out services in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Currently, there are six mobile players in Mumbai, led by Hutchison Essar with over 2 million users. BPL Mobile, which was meant to be merged with Hutch Essar but is now caught in a legal battle, has around 1.3 million subscribers. Bharti Airtel has 1.3 million and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) 1 million mobile users. CDMA players Reliance Communications with around 1.7 million and Tata Teleservices with 0.4 million mobile users are the other two players in the city.

Bharti Airtel is the only telecom player to be present in all 23 circles in the country. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is present in all circles except Delhi and Mumbai, which are the territory of its sibling MTNL. Among other significant players, Hutch Essar operates in 16 circles, Reliance Communications in 21, and Tata Teleservices in 20.