Hutch is now Vodafone in India. Vodafone management has decided to spend $2 billion a year for expanding and strengthening the GSM network across India. The company had also promised another $10 million investment to establish a charitable organization in India.

According to the report, Vodafone has taken a decision to share the telecom infrastructure with its market competitors instead of exclusively creating them on its own. Arun Sarin, Vodafone Chief Executive Officer, said that Vodafone’s entry into India would double the company’s expenditure.

He said:

We are now spending $2 billion a year. We plan to cover 90 per cent of the market from 50 per cent now by bundling affordable handsets to reach out to the masses, particularly in small towns and villages.

Sarin further said that Vodafone has decided to share the infrastructure with other telecom companies in market so that other companies need not put up their own GSM towers everywhere for better network functioning in the country.

The new policy of sharing the infrastructure would help Vodafone and other companies to expand their network across India. Arun, at the same time, said that the company has no immediate plans to go for any acquisition of the telecom tower business of other groups.

The Vodafone-backed charitable foundation would work on projects linked with providing education to younger generation in India. The organization would help the government and other organization to enable the development of higher skill sets among Indian youths.

On Monday, Arun Sarin also met Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to discuss on the controversy over $1.7-billion tax liability raised after the Hutch-Vodafone deal. Sarin said that the company would wait for the court decision in this matter.

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