Bharti Televentures on Thursday announced plans to provide GSM services to six eastern and north-eastern states as well as to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, in two phases.
The company's president (mobility) Manoj Kohli said at a press conference in Kolkata that Bharti has applied for unified access licence for providing the service in Assam.
Through its acquisition of Hexacom, the company had entered the north-eastern states as well, he added.
After Bharti extends the service to the 12 states including those in the north-east, it would become the first GSM operator in the country to be present in all the 23 circles, he said.
AirTel is currently being provided in 15 circles of the country.
The eastern states where the service would be extended are Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Sikkim, and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Kohli said the first phase, which covered West Bengal, would be completed by October this year, adding that a total of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) would be invested in expanding services in the region.