Aircel applies for eight more circles

By agencies   |   Thursday, 02 March 2006, 20:30 IST
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CHENNAI: Chennai based telecom operator Aircel Ltd, which has been acquired by Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia, has applied for licenses to operate in eight more circles. Maxis is waiting for regulatory approvals from both Indian and Malaysian authorities to complete the acquisition. According to the company, Aircel will expand its services to 10 circles by end of the year. Services have been launched in five of these circles - West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir - in late 2005, and the company expects to roll out services in five other markets - Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) by the year-end. In addition, the company also said it had applied for licenses for Haryana, Kolkata, Kerala, Punjab, Mumbai, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Maxis' Chairman, Tan Sri Dato Megat Zaharuddin, said, "We are committed to making the significant investments necessary to become a pan-Indian player. Investments of $500 million are required to support the roll out in the new circles where we have either launched services or are in preparation for the launch." Maxis' Chief Executive, Dato Jamaludin Ibrahim, said more investments were planned to support the existing and additional circles that the company was targeting. The intention was that the capital for these investments be raised at the Aircel level.