The company is moving into an aggressive mode and these investments will catapult Birla AT&T to becoming a world-class network provider, says Birla AT&T president & CEO Sanjeev Aga. Buoyed by the migration to the new telecom policy and the merger with Tata Cellular, Aga says the uncertainties and diffidence has been set aside. Bulk of the new investments will go in for improving network coverage and quality, he says. ``We are making ourselves future-proof,'' Aga adds.

Apart from the network roll out, a slew of new products will hit the market. The company is ready to launch WAP in the circle. ``We are in the advance stage of working with WAP and are waiting for logistics to fall in place,'' says Aga. With WAP, the subscribers will be able to access the Internet and browse through their cellphones. Voice mail and e-messaging also will be launched.

BAT&T will be extending coverage to areas in the Vidharba region and the Konkan belt in the Maharashtra circle and Kutch in Gujarat. Services will begin in Nagpur within a couple of weeks. BAT&T, which is known for its superior highway coverage, is also ready to move on to the new Pune Mumbai Expressway.

Two additional mobile switching centres will be commissioned to take the total mobile switching centres to six. The first one is coming up at Nagpur while the second one is planned for Gujarat. These latest version Ericsson GSM switches have more compact structures with smaller radios and are more seamless. The existing switching centres too will be further upgraded allowing for smooth migration to the third generation technologies. In addition, 700 kms SDH technology-based optical fibre cable will be laid in two circles.

Apart from strengthening the domestic coverage, the company is all set to become the leading international roaming service provider in the country with access to over 200 GSM networks worldwide with special emphasis on the US continent. The Voyager and Concert platforms will be integrated to achieve this.