[00-8-25] Pacific Convergence To Pump $100m Into Indian Ops
By CT Mahabharat, Newsbytes.
NEW DELHI, INDIA,
25 Aug 2000, 2:59 AM CST
Pacific Convergence To Pump $100m Into Indian Ops 08/25/00 NEW DELHI, INDIA, 2000 AUG 25 (NB) -- By CT Mahabharat, Newsbytes. Pacific Convergence Corporation (PCC) is looking to get a piece of the action as India moves into the world of convergence.
The company has unveiled plans to invest up to US$100 million in India over a period of two years to create a convergence platform that will synchronize live television content with broadband Internet.
According to Siddhartha Ray, MD of Data Access India - PCC's local affiliate - the company has already invested $30 million in building new infrastructure.
A unit of Pacific Century CyberWorks, PCC will offer its network of the world (NOW) services through Data Access, which is a Category-A ISP in India.
Data Access, in which PCC holds 49 percent, will offer dial-up and broadband connectivity. SPA Enterprises holds the majority stake in the ISP.
NOW's services will be accessible through any Internet access device. The convergence platform would cover the NOW television channel, its global broadband Internet portal and an India-specific portal.
According to Ray, Data Access was also looking at delivering content through various access mechanisms including cable TV, dial-up and ADSL. He said the company was in talks with MTNL and other telecom operators to use their network infrastructure to provide Internet access through ADSL lines.
The NOW service, to begin sometime in September, will initially roll out services only in English. Subsequently, it will also be offered in Hindi, Chinese and Japanese. Other Asian countries where the service is to be launched are Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan.
Data Access is already in the process of rolling out services in four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. Later, these will be extended to another 26 cities.
The company is in the process of setting up two Internet gateways in Delhi and Mumbai. The Delhi gateway has been commissioned and is awaiting security clearances. The Mumbai gateway will be commissioned shortly, Ray said.
In addition to live TV, a NOW subscriber will also get access to broadband content like video streaming, MP3 music, radio and data archives. At present, NOW's content is developed at its network operating center in London. Trans World International (TWI), the programming division of International Management Group, will provide initial production services for NOW English programs and Internet services. NOW will also get unlimited access to TWI's library of programs.
Ray said the primary source of revenue for the company will come from ISP access services, but advertisement and e-commerce will also contribute towards it.
Reported By Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com .
02:59 CST
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