BANGALORE: Hughes Ispat Ltd. (HIL), which offers basic telephony services in
the Maharashtra circle, has targeted the pay phone segment for growth and has
launched a month long promotion activity with its pay phone operator Zip Telecom
Ltd.
Speaking to the press, HIL vice president sales, marketing and customer care
George Varghese has said that the company had over 1,500 STD\ISD pay phones in
the circle. Denying the charges that HIL was operating in Pune without DoT
clearance, Mr Varghese said they have obtained TEC clearances for their
services, which was the contractual obligation.
On the issue of pricing, Mr Varghese said, HIL would not offer discounted
rates for its services in a bid to get customers. The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) specified rates, which DoT follows, would be
maintained. The thrust on pay phones was done to increase phone usage since
teledensity outside Mumbai is believed to be about 2 per 100 and in Mumbai it is
about 14 per 100. HIL's three switchboards are in Navi Mumbai, Worli and Pune,
each with capacities for seven lakh lines, hence they will not need to set up a
new switch in Pune at least, he added.
HIL began its services in the Navi Mumbai area last year, followed by Pune in
December ’98 and Worli in February ’99. It has a total subscriber base of
14,000, with Pune accounting for 3,000. Zip Telecom, which has partnered HIL in
the Maharashtra circle, is in the process of launching its product in other
states so that in another five years, it would be available nationally.