MUMBAI, INDIA: India's Videocon Group on Thursday said it launched mobile services in the country under the GSM platform, becoming the 14th operator in the crowded Indian mobile services market.

Videocon would invest 140 billion rupees ($3 billion) over the next three years as it builds its wireless network and aims to cover 100 towns and cities in the next 100 days, it said in a statement.

The company has initially launched services in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and would cover five more states in the next two weeks.

India is the world's fastest-growing and the second-largest wireless services market after China, but cut-rate competition aimed at acquiring subscribers faster than rivals has started straining profitability at firms.