Viom Networks plans to invest Rs. 150 crore in tower expansion.

Viom Networks Ltd. is looking to add 1,000-1,500 mobile towers over the next one year at an investment of Rs. 150 core (or between Rs. 12 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh a tower). Last year, it is said to have rolled out a similar number of sites (towers).

The company's current expansion comes as a 500 per cent increase over the 2012-13 period, when the industry was hit by the 2G scam and controversy over spectrum allocation.

New towers would consist of a mixture of urban in-fills (smaller towers between two larger ones), rural lite-anchor ones (that require less space with high profitability) and conventional ground sites.

According to Sunil Kanoria, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Viom is banking on growth in data services. This apart, rollout of 4G services would see increased demand for towers.

'We have started seeing good growth over the last six to seven months. New tower additions will mostly be funded through internal accruals,' he told BusinessLine.

Gurgaon-based Viom is currently the second largest telecom tower company with nearly 42,000 towers and a tenancy ratio (no of users per tower) of 2.3.

It reported a net profit of approximately Rs. 100 crore against a turnover of Rs. 5,000 crore for FY-14, according to company sources.


HBL