Idea's Mumbai launch likely in early 08

NEW DELHI: Aditya Birla group company Idea Cellular is likely to launch its operations in the Mumbai circle by the early part of next year.

According to industry sources the Department of Telecom (DoT) has officially allocated spectrum to the operator for Mumbai. However, the company officials denied receiving any intimation from DoT on release of spectrum.

The service provider currently has operating licenses for 15 circles but has services in 13 circles due to delay in allocation of spectrum by the government.

Rajat Mukherjee vice president (Corporate Affairs), Idea Cellular said that they had received the licenses for the two circles- Mumbai and Bihar (Bihar includes Jharkhand) but is yet to received spectrum for starting the operations. “We were expecting to receive spectrum by July, but we have not yet received any intimation from the government on it. Once we receive the spectrum it will take 3-4 months for us to start services in these two circles,” Mukherjee said.

However, the company is more concerned about starting its services in Mumbai, which is one of the major markets for the telecom operators.

The company had recently written to the TRAI Chairman, Nripendra Misra seeking intervention regarding the delay in awarding the license for the remaining circles. It has also asked government to allocate start-up spectrum against new licenses.