Mukesh Ambani-led 4G telecom operator Reliance Jio is planning to invest another Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of four years to expand its network in the country, the telco said while informing the telecom minister Manoj Sinha on its future plans.
The telecom operator will also add 45,000 new base stations in next six months. According to Jio, it has invested Rs 1,60,000 crore to install 2,82,000 base station in the country.
Reliance Jio, which launched commercial services on September 5, is offering free voice and data services to users in India. The telco reportedly has over 25 million customers, and it is planning to add at least 100 million customers by the end of a year.
Although, most of calls originating from Jio’s network are dropped due to interconnection and MNP issues.
Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal, Vodafone India MD and CEO Sunil Sood, Idea MD and CEO Himanshu Kapania and Reliance Jio Director Mahendra Nahata attended the meeting with minister to apprise him about the 100-day action plan on call drops.
The telecom operators had in June presented the Communications Minister a 100-day plan in which they had committed to an investment of Rs 12,000 crore for installing 60,000 BTS in the country to address the issue of call drops that was causing inconvenience to consumers.
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India’s leading telco Bharti Airtel informed the minister that it has added 17,000 new sites, and has done 15% improvement in call drop.
Vodafone and Idea Cellular, the second and third largest telecom operators by users, have informed the minister that they have added 13,000 and 25,000 new sites each to tackle call drops menace.
GSM telecom operators, through their industry body, on Tuesday said that they have set up about 1,29,101 base stations in four months, exceeding the target set by double the number. The total BTS in the country stood at 13,45,470 with a cumulative investment of Rs 8,50,000 crore.
