Aircel is Tamil Nadu’s leading GSM mobile operator with reasonable tariffs and Value Added Services. After its success in Tamil Nadu, the network started to expand itself in fields like WiMAX, Long Distance Calls and also its Mobile service in other parts of India. Aircel started its expansion in North and North-Eastern areas covering Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Assam, North-East, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa, and further covered Kerala and Karnataka. And this isn’t the end of its expansion, it has also gained an additional spectrum from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to expand its wings to Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Expansion in Kerala:

Aircel’s entered into its 11th circle, Kerala, with its ubercool Start-up pack with really low rates. It has also offered free roaming in Tamil Nadu for the first three months. I guess this will most probably work only on Aircel Network in TN. Also calls to Tamil Nadu Aircel will be charged at just Rs. 0.50 per minute!

Expansion in Karnataka:

Karnataka was one of Aircel’s main target. The network entered into Karnataka (12th circle) spending Rs. 550 Crore for Bangalore city alone! It has also planned to set up 1200 base stations all over Karnataka in the next two months. Aircel COO, Gurdeep Singh said

“Bangalore has a penetration rate of 78 per cent, and this is indicative of the huge potential the market holds for us. Many overseas markets have penetration rates in the region of 130 per cent or so. Hence, we see huge scope to widen the market further through innovative product launches and value-adds.”

Aircel has planned to start its next expansion in metros like Mumbai and Delhi and it has stated that it will have a pan-india presence by the end of 2009.