The Hindu Business Line : Hutch rolls out in Bengal, Sikkim

HUTCH on Wednesday announced the launch of cellular services in the West Bengal Telecom Circle, which comprises the whole of West Bengal except Kolkata, Sikkim and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

For the moment, however, the rollout will be confined to West Bengal and Sikkim, according to Mr Asim Ghosh, Managing Director of the Hutch group in India.

The licence to operate cellular services in West Bengal and Sikkim has been obtained by Hutchison Essar South Ltd, a Hutch group company. The group's cellular operations in Kolkata are offered by Hutchison Telecom East Ltd.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Ghosh said that, with the launch of cellular services in the West Bengal Telecom Circle, Hutch had extended its services to 13 telecom circles across the country with a footprint spread across 75 per cent of the country's addressable mobile market. He said there were no plans at present to offer cellular services in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Mr Ghosh said that the communication infrastructure in West Bengal was relatively underdeveloped and, as such, held huge potential for telecommunications companies. He said that with the rollout in West Bengal and Sikkim, Hutch's cellular services would be available in 140 towns in the telecom circle. Tie-ups have been firmed up for seven points of interconnect.

He said the company would match the prevailing market tariffs but declined to provide details of plans pertaining to marketing and brand building.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | New Products & Services | Other States

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page