Aircel plans to expand GSM coverage to entire India & subscriber base to one million
By Poonam Singhal on 5 February, 2010, 5:26 pm
Aircel has ambitious plans of pan-India presence with its GSM network covering entire nation, by the end of 2010. In addition to this, Aircel also plans to triple its subscriber base to a record 100 million by 2012.
This is a very aggressive target, as the marker leader Bharti Airtel hit this number after 14 years in the market, only in May 2009. Considering this fact, we need to see what plans Aircel has to meet this aggressive target.
The company has a strong appetite for growth, given that it has set such stringent targets and had also worked aggressive last year. It had launched eight circles in a record 90 days within the first half of 2009 covering all metros and key corridors. 
Recently, the company sold its tower and got a capital of Rs 15000 crore, ready to re-invest. Aircel plans to use this budget for it expansion plans in India. . In 2010, Aircel plans to launch in Haryana, MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab.
Moving on to some factss & figures, in 2008, Aircel had a base of 16 million subscribers, which grew to 31 million in 2009. This was a phenomenal growth of 92%. In 2008, its revenue share was 2.1%, while in 2009, it grew to 4.1. Aircel’s 13 percent revenue growth quarter over quarter in Q3 2009 makes it India’s fastest growing operator.
Given that the call tariffs are at its lowest, the company is thinking of other ways to generate revenue. It plans to have value-added services & data. It plans to lead the evolution of value-added services and data in India. Its entire marketing campaign called ‘World of Possibilities’ projects Aircel as the first to spread the use of VAS and data. While voice revenues presently add up to over 90 percent of the Indian telecom sectors total revenue, this is not deterring Aircel’s ambitions of increased revenues from data.
Aircel is trying to create itself as a brand. It has launched a campaign to save tigers with its ‘Save the Tiger’ initiative. It has roped in the Indian youth icon, cricket champion MS Dhoni for this campaign. This move is to attract the younger crowd. This is an important segment considering that India is expected to become the world’s youngest country by 2012.
Aircel started its operations in TamilNadu, in 1999, and has mostly been known as a regional player since then. But, Aircel has come a long way since then, becoming a market leader in Tamil Nadu & Assam. It has got a number of awards. Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006. Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Businessworld’s ‘List of Best Mid-Size Companies’ in 2007. Additionally, Tele.net recognised Aircel as the best regional operator in 2008.
All the best to Aircel for its aggressive targets, and good luck to all the employees there as they need to meet these.
dear sir
I want to know that when are lonching air cell in MP.