Excel Infotech to launch ISP service

Rajitha Saleem

NEW DELHI: Excel Infotech Ltd., a Delhi-based software solutions company,
plans to launch Internet services in Jalandhar this month. Excel, with an 'A'
category ISP license, will offer its ISP services under the SwiftXs.com brand
name. Excel already operates a chain of cyber cafes under the same brand name.

"We had done a pilot study in Punjab and found that Jalandhar holds
immense potential for Internet services. Almost all the families in the villages
have one person abroad and hence the need for connectivity is huge," said
Excel Infotech MD G S Maheswari.

After launching its services in nine cities in Punjab, including Ludhiana,
Patiala and Kapurthala, Excel plans to move on to the NCR region by launching
the service in Delhi in March. SwiftXs comes with remote customer-service
software, which will charge the user according to usage.

Maheswari feels that SwiftXs would score over Spectranet as it would have
minimal physical interference. "To begin with, we will start with a 2 MB
bandwidth in a single city. This will be increased later as more cities and
states are added," said Maheswari.

The SwiftXs cyber cafes would also be providing Web services. Currently,
there are three SwiftXs cyber cafes in Punjab, which would be expanded to 50
within the next few months. SwiftXs would be partnering with major banks, white
goods dealers and other resellers for barter deals of their services.

Maheswari also claimed that Excel would soon be the first company to offer
Internet connectivity through cable in Punjab. Excel plans to extend its
services to Rajasthan, UP and South India in the coming years.

SwiftXs hopes to generate capital through subscription, services and barter
deals. Advertisements would constitute only a small part of the proposed
revenue, Maheswari said. The service is expected to generate revenues of Rs 4
lakh in the first month of launch. Excel had invested Rs 8 crore for launching
the service in the Jalandhar and NCR region. The company hopes to recover the
investment within one and half years.