Uninor, the Indian operator controlled by Telenor, plans to expand its network in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The company aims to deploy 550 additional network sites in the state over the next three months, a 30 per cent increase on the current number of base stations.

The expansion will mean Uninor has close to 3,500 network sites in the southeastern state in which it has 4.5 million subscribers. The expansion will benefit the Vijayawara region in particular.

Uninor acquired additional spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in four of the six locations in which it has a presence (Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar & Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh) as part of an auction earlier this year.

The additional spectrum — which set the company back $136 million — boosted its voice and data capacity in these regions by 20 per cent to 25 per cent, according to the company.

Uninor announced it had reached financial breakeven for the first time at the beginning of 2014, after four years of operation. In August last year, it said it had broken even in three of its six operating circles and was on track to achieve the same for its remaining circles.

The operator currently has 32 million subscribers across its six circles, which cover more than 50 per cent of the country’s population.

The business appointed Morten Karlsen Sorby as its new CEO in January, following significant upheaval at the unit over the past few years.

Uninor was originally Telenor’s joint venture with local company Unitech and was transferred to a new entity controlled by the Nordic operator group at the end of 2012, when the partners went their separate ways.

Telenor subsequently announced a deal in which Lakshdeep Investments & Finance would buy 26 per cent of the company, which was named Telewings.