India Hughes Tele.com To Offer Wireless Svcs By Year-End
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW DELHI -- Indian telecommunications company Hughes Tele.com Ltd., part of U.S.-based Hughes Network Systems, plans to offer wireless services to consumers in the states of Maharashtra and Goa by end-2002.
Hughes Tele.com is a basic phone service operator in Maharashtra and Goa.
Hughes Tele.com plans to now concentrate on residential customers after focusing mainly on fixed-line access for corporate customers.
"Our first step was to wire up all the buildings (for corporate offices)," said Pradman Kaul, Chairman & Chief Executive of Hughes Network Systems.
"So we'll get the residential customers in the next step," Kaul said.
Kaul said the company has so far raised and invested $300 million into its operations in Maharashtra and Goa.
The company hopes to have 150,000 basic phone service customers by the end of March and 200,000 customers by June.
"The CDMA (wireless) subscribers will be additional to the existing basic phone service customers," Kaul said.
The government has allowed basic phone service operators to use CDMA technology for providing wireless services to customers. This wireless phone service is limited to a certain area and has no roaming services, to differentiate it from cellular phone services.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTE) already offers wireless services in New Delhi and Bombay.
Kaul said Hughes Tele.com has no plans to expand its operations outside of the two states it currently operates in.
"We won't look at expansion till we get Maharashtra totally self-standing and generating all the cash it needs for its own growth," Kaul said.
Last year, Indian conglomerate Tata Group (P.TTA) and Hughes Tele.com announced a plan merging their basic phone service operations. However, talks were called off in January after they concluded that there would be no real synergies formed.
"It (non-completion of merger talks) hasn't hit our plans," Kaul said. "We are still right on track."
Tata Group company Tata Teleservices is a basic phone service operator in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
"The reason we were looking at the potential merger with the Tatas was for consolidation. But it isn't necessary for our business success," Kaul explained.
He added that as with the global telecom industry, consolidation is likely to happen in India as well.
"Eventually consolidation will occur but we don't need to have it happen in the immediate future," Kaul said.
-By Sonal Singh, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9426; Sonal.Singh@Dowjones.com
Updated March 8, 2002 6:52 a.m. EST |
