Videocon joins mobile bandwagon with launch in TN

Videocon Telecommunications Ltd. launched mobile telephone services under the GSM platform. The service, which was launched in Tamil Nadu with sub-one paise effective tariff, will be rolled out in other states, covering 100 cities over the next 100 days. Addressing a press conference, Chairman of Videocon group, Venugopal Dhoot, said that Videocon would invest Rs140bn in its mobile telecom business in the next three years, and expects to secure 100 million subscribers over the period. Dhoot said that a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) has committed to lending Rs70bn to Videocon, for the telecom business. The rest of the funds will come from internal accruals. In Tamil Nadu, where Videocon joined nine other operators, the company intends to invest Rs15bn, generating employment to some 20,000 people.