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Our Bureau

New Delhi , June 10

ATLAS Interactive India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the $300 million (around Rs 1,348 crore) Atlas Group, has entered into an agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to provide entertainment services over broadband.

These include time-shifted TV, video on demand, music on demand and an array of other related services over the existing copper network of BSNL to its customers.

The Rs 1,200-crore project called netTV, would be launched in the coming six months in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida on BSNL's network.

The revenues would be generated through a 15-year revenue share arrangement between BSNL and Atlas Interactive . Atlas Interactive has shortlisted quality technology vendors such as Siemens, Lucent, ZTE and Tandberg.

According to Mr Philippe Bednarek, Chairman of the Atlas Group, "Our aim is to converge telephony with Internet and television content in India, where the potential for growth is mind boggling."

Mr Abhishek Verma, Chairman, Atlas Interactive added, "The Indian telecom industry represents a huge market for customised interactive-telecom solutions. It offers us an exciting opportunity to provide a customised network model which makes the best use of low cost infrastructure and cutting edge technology."

Any BSNL customer in the Atlas service area with a television set and a telephone connection will be able to access most of the broadcast services, as well as basic Internet functions such as web browsing and e-mail, through a set top box provided by Atlas.

Customers with a personal computer will also be able to access broadband Internet services, offering much faster web browsing, video conferencing, and very fast file transfer. With the addition of a simple web cam, customers will even be able to undertake video communications with other BSNL customers who signup for this service.

Atlas is in advance talks with all the well-known satellite and terrestrial channels. It will also develop pay-per-view (PPV) programming especially of special events in sports, previews of new films amongst others. Customers will also be able to access a vast library of video on demand (VoD) content, including movies, documentaries music concerts and others.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Broadband

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