Idea to Launch 4G Services Across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Telecom network operator Idea Cellular announced Monday it is working on a plan to launch 4G services in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh circles in early 2016. "We've already acquired spectrum to launch 4G services in the circle. We are going to launch it in early 2016. We are working on it," Idea Cellular (MP and Chhattisgarh Circle) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rajesh Naik told reporters in Indore. Idea Cellular has more than 20 million customers in MP and Chhattisgarh, he said.

According to the result of the first quarter of the current fiscal, the revenue share of the company has been 41.2 percent in the circle, he said. The COO said that the company plans to expand its base in remote areas of MP and Chhattisgarh, adding services would be launched at 400 to 500 places, mostly in rural areas, during this fiscal.

Last week, Idea said it is shifting 1.5 million prepaid customers who were on per minute billing (PMB) plan to per second billing (PSB), thus ensuring all its prepaid users pay only for the time they use the network.

Apart from the 1.5 million, who will be shifted over the next 30 days, the rest of its prepaid users are already on per second billing. The company said that out of its total customer base of over 166 million, nearly 157 million are prepaid.

Bharti Airtel earlier in September also said all its prepaid customers will be put on per second billing. The move by mobile operators comes amid regulator Trai's scrutiny whether there are any tariff plans by service providers wherein call drops actually incentivise or benefit the companies.