Maxis India unit to spend US$500m for 4G (6012)

NEW DELHI: Maxis Bhd’s unit in India, Aircel, will invest US$500 million to launch its 4G services between October and December this year.

Business Standard reported that Aircel, which has spectrum in eight circles, would start rolling out the services from Chennai and other cities of Tamil Nadu.

"Our focus is on creating a big data business. We’ll award contracts for 4G equipment soon and launch between October and December. We are putting in US$500 million," Maxis’ chief executive officer, Sandip Das, said.

Aircel would be an integrated provider of 4G services, he said.

The telecommunications firm would not only provide mobile 4G services through dongles and devices but also get into consumer homes by offering broadband internet, broadcasting, video on demand, education and healthcare services, among others, he said.

"It is already working on creating a fibre optic backbone -— partly by leasing and partly by investing on its own," he said.

On speculation that the telco was up for sale and has been approached by buyers like Sistema, Sandip said, Aircel was open to the idea of going into a strategic partnership, which could include having financial investors, but would continue to hold a majority stake in the company. -- Bernama