Touchtel to touch 80,000 subscribers by Mar 2003

Bharti Telenet, promoters of `touchtel' brand of fixed line services in Tamil Nadu, is all set to increase its subscribers base from present 20,000 plus customers to 80,000 customers by March 2003. The company has identified 20 key cities and towns in Tamil Nadu where the service will be extended in the phased manner. 

"We expect to cover all the identified cities and towns in the next couple of months," said K Krishnan, CEO, Bharti Telenet Limited.

Recently, the company has launched its `touchtel' service in Coimbatore and it is already present in Chennai and
Madurai.

"We are expanding our network in Chennai and providing both copper and fiber connections as the last mile connectivity," he said.

The company is also very aggressive in expanding its reach in Karnataka. Presently, the company has service only in Bangalore and Mangalore, while cities such as Mysore, Udipi, Belgaum and Hubli are being covered in the next two months.

"We have the advantage of providing integrated service such as voice, data, ISDN, leased line, VSAT and DSL, all under one-roof," claimed Krishnan. The company also offers other host of value-added services.

The company also sees a major opportunity in the data business service.

"While Bangalore has corporate as its strength, Chennai has a good number of small and medium businesses which provide excellent business opportunity for players like us," he added.

DQW News Bureau