India is likely to have 70 to 80 million cellphones by 2005-06, and it would take a couple of years more to reach the 100 million mark, Bharti group chairman and managing director Sunil Bharti Mittal said in Hyderabad on Monday.

Addressing a media conference, Sunil Mittal said that the cellular service providers reached the 12 million mark recently and the number of cellphones could be doubled to 25 million in the next 12 months, if the industry managed to add one million connections every month.

"However, doubling the numbers from 25 million to 50 million and then to 100 million will be tougher," he said.

He pointed out that China already has 200 million cellphones.

He said that the Bharti group has emerged as India's leading private sector telecom service provider with 3.6 million customers as on April 30, with 3.22 mobile connections and 380,000 fixed line connections.

"We are the largest mobile operator in the country. Our all-India market share was 24 percent in April 2003. Mobile services constitute the largest portion of our business both in terms of total revenues and total customers," he pointed out.

Sunil Mittal said the company today offered mobile services in 15 out of 22 circles in India.

Bharti group's services are available in 56 percent of India's geographical area where 52 percent of the country's population and 92 percent of mobile subscribers resided.

"The company seeks to capitalise on the growth opportunities that are available in the Indian market and consolidate its position to be an integrated telecom service provider, with a focus on mobile services," he said, and explained that the company would be making capital investments of $300-350 million this year in fixed line, long-distance and mobile telephony sectors.

Bharti Tele-Ventures recorded revenues of Rs 3,083 crore (Rs 30.83 billion) and EBITDA of Rs 771 crore (Rs 7.71 billion) in the fiscal year, ended March 31, 2003.

The company has made gross investment of Rs 9,700 crore (Rs 97 billion) in building telecom infrastructure in the country.

Sunil Mittal announced that AirTel has emerged as the number one cellular operator in Andhra Pradesh, with 321,207 customers as on April 30.

AirTel has, thus, managed to overtake Idea Cellular, which has 303,000 customers. The Bharti CMD also launched an aggressive fast-track plan called LeAP (Leverage Andhra's Potential) to expand its network coverage by 50 per cent in the state.

He said that Bharti would invest a whopping Rs 137 crore (Rs 1.37 billion) in the next four months to further consolidate AirTel's leadership position in the Andhra market.

With this investment in network expansion, AirTel would additionally reach out to 75 towns and 2,085 villages, taking its total coverage to 215 towns and 6,100 villages from the existing 140 towns and 4,015 villages in the state.

Also, the number of cell sites would increase from 269 at present to 396.

"The leadership AirTel has attained in the state is the fulfillment of our dream envisaged when we started our journey here in May 2000. With LeAP, we will take AirTel to new untapped markets and increase our network coverage. Andhra Pradesh has a huge untapped potential in the mobility arena and we will leverage it to further our mission of making mobility a way of life," he said.

Project LeAP would bring with it better reach and quality for AirTel customers in the state, with a special focus on travel zones which would ensure seamless connectivity around key cities, Manoj Kohli, president, Mobility, Bharti Tele-Ventures said.

"Andhra Pradesh has three million landlines while the number of mobile phones is just over a million. The scope for growth is immense. With extremely attractive tariffs and income free, mobility is a value proposition for the common man," Kohli said.

He announced that AirTel would employ an international billing and e-CRM system for subscribers in the state shortly.