Hutch Crosses 50 Lac Subscribers Mark in Gujarat; Plans to Invest More in the State

Hutch
Ahmedabad: Hutch has crossed the 50 lakh subscriber mark in Gujarat. Now it plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore in the State during the existing fiscal (2007), as part of its growth plans.

Last year, the cellular services supplier invested Rs 330 crore in the state that contributes one-seventh of the total earnings of the company in India.

Sunil Sood, Hutch (Gujarat) Operations Director said, “Gujarat is the first state in the country where Hutch has crossed the 50 lakh subscriber mark. Today we cover more than 10,500 towns and villages in Gujarat and one in every 10 person in Gujarat is a Hutch subscriber.”

With this, Gujarat has turn out to be the first circle amongst the 16 existing Hutch circles to reach this mark, and Uttar Pradesh is on second place with 30 lakh Hutch subscribers, Mr. Sood stated.

In December 2006, the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Government to invest Rs 2,500 crore till 2011, which was projected to create 83,000 employment opportunities.

Among the country’s cellular service providers, only Bharti Airtel has reached the 50 lakh mark in Karnataka recently.

Mr. Sood added, “In the last two years, our entire concentration has been to expand in the rural areas of Gujarat. Over 65 per cent of Hutch Gujarat's subscribers now come from rural Gujarat.”