Bharti Tele Ventures Limited (BTVL) reportedly plans to invest around $1 billion in various telecom projects during 2005-06.

This will be a 15 per cent increase over the $875 million invested in 2004-05. Out of the planned investment, 70 per cent will go towards expanding its cellular business. The company is planning to expand operations to 5,000 towns this year from the current 2,700 towns. The remaining amount of about $300 million will go towards expanding its fixed line business. The company is planning to expand its fixed line operations to 20 new cities including Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.