Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, May 08, 2002 |
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Info-Tech
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Telecommunications Fourth mobile operator -- Hutchison Essar may enter AP soon Our Bureau
HYDERABAD, May 7 HUTCHISON Essar South Ltd, which is in the process of establishing its telecom backbone and infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, is set to ring in as the fourth mobile telephony operator in the State this quarter. The Chief Operating Officer of Hutchison Essar South Ltd, Mr Samuel Selvakumar, said that the company has already set up over 200 cell sites across the State and is looking at a simultaneous roll out of mobile services across the State. ``We are also in parleys with other companies and service providers in order to share infrastructure and will be able to soon announce details of the company's road map for the State,'' Mr Selvakumar said. ``No fourth operator is able to get off the block. The whole range of regulatory issues is being addressed by them. It is not just merely setting up a network it is to do with the regulatory issues and host of permissions and clearances. Once we are through, we will be able to kick off services this quarter,'' he added. ``The cellular industry in the country is growing at a very brisk pace. We in the company are certain and several reports suggest that the mobile phones will outpace landlines this decade. In the next five years or so this would be a reality and the State would also witness similar growth,'' he said. ``We are in the process of branding the product and services in the state. It will not be Orange as is the case with other network. Andhra Pradesh is high on the company's priority and huge investments in infrastructure are underway,'' he added. When queried if the roll out of third and fourth operators lead to price wars. Mr Selvakumar said that the effort will be to grow the market and not to cut into others business. Price wars may read good but are not be good for the industry. Attractive pricing is fine but if one uses price as a weapon for marketing tool it will lead to negative growth. The State is presently served by Bharti Mobile Ltd with its AirTel brand and Idea Cellular Ltd, (formerly Tata Cellular) who together account for a little over 5.2 lakh subscribers across the State. BSNL is also set to enter the fray soon.
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