Reliance Communications CMD Anil Ambani today said the company has added 1 million 4G paid customers using more than 1 GB data monthly, within 90 days of launch.
The addition of paid customer base is important for the telecom industry because Reliance Jio, a 4G venture promoted by Anil Ambani’s brother Mukesh Ambani, is offering free 4G SIMs to promote his mobile Internet business.
He said Reliance Communications aims to reduce debt by 75 percent within a year.
Reliance Communications recently announced its merger with smaller rival Aircel to become the third largest telecom operator in India – behind Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India and ahead of Idea Cell.
“We have all the spectrum we need for 2G 3G and 4G, plus spectrum trading and sharing with Reliance Jio Infocomm,” said Anil Ambani at the annual general meeting of Reliance Communications.
Anil Ambani said other telecom network operator will have to make huge investment on spectrum to survive in the Indian telecom market.
“I am confident of future of Reliance Communications and its market position. Mukesh and Anil Ambani are two brothers working relentlessly to fulfill the dream of Dhirubhai Ambani. We have accomplished a virtual merger between Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio,” said Anil Ambani.
Anil Ambani claimed that Reliance Communications has a full Gold Standard 4G LTE network on a pan-India basis. Reliance Communications will be among top operators in 12 circles in India post Aircel merger.
Reliance and Aircel
Earlier media reports said the new company between Reliance Communications and Aircel will have a debt of Rs 28,000 crore, equally divided between the two groups.
For the promoters of the two groups, the debt will reduce by Rs 20,000 crore or over 40 percent in the case of Reliance Communications, and Rs 4,000 crore for Maxis.
In November last year, Reliance Communications announced the takeover of the telecom business of MTS in a deal valued at Rs 5,000 crore ($730 million), involving both a stock-swap and payment towards spectrum.
The new company will have 451 MHz of spectrum pan-India – Aircel’s 187.6 MHz, MTS India’s 39.4 MHz and Reliance Communication’s 224 MHZ.
This will be the second-largest spectrum holding amongst all operators, spread over 448 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands. The validity of spectrum holdings will be till 2033-35.
