Abhishek Bachchan 'walks and talks' at Idea launch in Kolkata

Aditya Birla telecom firm Idea Cellular has launched its GSM mobile services in Kolkata Metro and West Bengal from today, becoming a pan-India operator with 98 per cent coverage of the telephony potential of the country.

In keeping with the recent brand campaign, Idea Brand Ambassador Abhishek Bachchan came in 'Walking & Talking' to the launch ceremony in Kolkata, in a symbolic gesture to flag off the services. At the event, Bachchan urged his fans in Bengal to join the mobile network in India.

The launch in Kolkata and West Bengal completes a major milestone in the cellular operator's pan-India expansion journey as it provides a base of 97 million people who will now gain access to IDEA Cellular's world-class mobile telephony services in the state.

The under-penetrated region of West Bengal with mobile penetration of just 24 per cent, in contrast to the highly competitive market of Kolkata Metro with a high mobile tele-density of 73 per cent, has been identified as a strategic market by IDEA Cellular.

Idea's initial network of 1,150 cell sites will progressively grow to a deep rooted network of over 2,800 cell sites to cover more than 8,200 towns & villages, by end of March 2010.

Idea's 2.75G EDGE enabled network will cover 8 major districts, namely Hooghly, Burdwan, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Bankura and Purulia, during the launch phase, and will be expanded to cover 22 districts of West Bengal and Sikkim, before the end of current financial year.