Asianet to offer Net access through cable from April

BANGALORE: Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd. will begin offering Internet access through cable modems from the first week of April in the two cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin. The company, which offers cable TV services in Kerala, is also in the process of obtaining Internet Service Provider licence to operate in the entire state of Kerala. This was disclosed by Asianet Satellite Communications managing director C.M. Radhakrishnan Nair.

Speaking to CIOL Bureau, Mr Nair said that the company would soon start laying optical fibre network in these two cities to provide both Internet and cable TV access. "We are also talking to various government institutions and banks in the state for offering Internet and Intranet connectivity through our network," he added. The company will also set up Internet kiosks across the two cities. Wipro Infotech has bagged the contract to set up the entire infrastructure required for the purpose that will range from design, integrate and manage an end-to-end broadband access solution.

Mr Nair pointed out that the state had a sizeable number of families whose members are working out of the state and there was strong need to communicate in a faster way. E-mail, "We will be offering Net acess through set-top converters, which will also provide access to a broader choice of TV channels," he said.

On the quality of cables, Mr Nair said that Asianet was the only cable operator in the country that followed the norms of FCC of the USA. The optical fibre network being planned across the state by the company will offer multimedia services, besides faster Internet access and basic telephony. The laying of the fibre optic cables will commence soon and is expected to be completed in the next three months.

The company has already spent Rs 100 crore for the above project and would spend another Rs 200 crore during the next two years, Mr Nair said. When asked on how the project would be financed, he said that the promoters (Hathway) could go for a mix of internal accruals and borrowing. Asianet currently offers cable TV services to 1.5 lakh houses in the state, which is expected to touch three lakh by 2002.