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BG to expand Indian broadband services

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CIOL Bureau
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By Thomas Kutty Abraham



AHMEDABAD: Enthused by the success of its global launch of broadband Internet services in India, British energy major BG Group Plc would soon expand the service to other Indian cities, a company official said on Friday. BG Broadband India Private Ltd, a unit of BG Group, launched its broadband Internet service in the textile and diamond hub of Surat in western India in November as a test market for a broader rollout.



BG Broadband India was looking at Bombay, India's financial capital and the industrial town of Baroda in western Gujarat state for its next foray, E.V.S. Chakravarthy, company's executive director, told Reuters. "More details of the launches will be out in a week or so," he said. BG Broadband India had a subscriber base of about 1,500 including household and commercial users in Surat.



"The response has been reasonably good in terms of both service and pricing," Chakravarthy said. The broadband service was set up at an investment of about $10 million and BG Broadband India plans to invest $21 million in the country over the next three years, he said.



BG Group chose Surat for the launch because it could market the services to the 130,000 customers of Gujarat Gas Company Ltd., in which it has a 65-percent stake. BG officials had said its broadband initiative in India was a test case for its push further into other markets such as Latin America and the Far East.



The majority of Internet users in India use dial-up networks are expected to switch over to broadband since it offers round-the-clock disruption-free connectivity.



© Reuters

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