Bharti Airtel has announced that it will terminate its 3G intra-circle roaming (ICR) agreement with Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in various circles, except Kerala, by March 2016. The company has also stated that it is planning to undertake capital expenditure of $3 billion in 2015-16 for its operations.
Out of the capex of $3 billion, about $700-800 million has been planned for African operations while the remaining is for India and South Asia operations. The company is presently awaiting allocation of spectrum, after which it would roll-out its 3G services in the circles where it currently offers 3G services through ICR pacts.
The company has held 3G spectrum across 13 out of 22 telecom circles in the country. In the March 2015 auctions, Airtel acquired 3G spectrum to expand its footprint in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh (East), Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
