The Hindu Business Line : Tata Tele plans corridor connectivity in AP

TATA Teleservices Ltd., the private telecom services provider, has drawn up plans to consolidate its network through `Corridor Connectivity' along three corridors in the State by expanding the network to 166 cities and aims at doubling the customer base this year from 5,00,000 to one million users.

The service provider plans to roll out a series of initiatives that would help the company reach out its fixed line, fixed wireless telephony and mobile services. These include commercial launch of Push to Talk, pre-paid mobile service, which is amongst the largest growing segment, and other data services

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Chief Operating Officer of Tata Teleservices for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Mr Prabhat Pani, said this customer base of 5,00,000 was achieved by the company without having a full footprint across the State. Given the plans to add more cities to the network, we would be able to notch up the one million mark in the State by the end of the year.

"From about 21 towns a month ago, we have reached 50 towns now and the number is increasing by the day. By the end of the year, we expect to cover 166 towns.

This would be consolidated along various corridors covering coastal, Rayalaseema and Telengana regions, thereby providing seamless connectivity. All this would mean an investment of about Rs 4,456 crore in the State network," Mr Pani said.

"The pre-paid mobile phone segment is the fastest growing business in the country. We were not present in the segment thus far. With the launch of pre-paid segment, we expect to tap a larger market share in the State.

For instance, the first one lakh customer base was achieved in 25 months, the next one in eight months and the last one in barely few months. With network expansion, the company is poised to double the base by the fiscal end," he said.

"The fixed wireless phone is one of the fastest growing business because of its convenience and advantages. With the launch of new phone Accesstel, we expect this to grow significantly this year along with the growth of the CDMA-based mobile phones. Earlier, there were some problems due to limited mobility, which hampered its growth. Now with the Unified Licence regime in place, we expect to tap newer markets across smaller towns in the State," Mr Pani said.

Tata Teleservices, which offers fixed wireless and fixed phone service in AP and Maharashtra, has notched up half a million lines in each of these circles, Mr Pani said.

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