Tulip to bloom on last mile connectivity

NEW DELHI: Tulip IT Services Ltd is in the process of transforming itself from being a network integration company to becoming a service provider.

The company is betting on its last mile wireless connectivity business for growth. It is in the process of creating wireless network infrastructure covering over 200 cities to provide the last mile connectivity to corporate firms.

Out of the Rs 400 crore revenue that the company is targeting for FY 2005-06, Rs 250—270 crore is expected from this business.

Explaining the new business, Tulip MD Lt. Col. HS Bedi, VSM said, “Instead of laying fiber ourselves, we are taking fiber on lease from major bandwidth provider across the country and are using wireless in the last mile to provide end to end VPN connectivity. For corporate firms, there would be a one time charge of Rs 1 lakh and the cost of a 64K link would be around Rs 75,000 — Rs one lakh.”

Approximate cost of setting up the infrastructure per district is around Rs 6 crore and the company plans to spend Rs 150 crore in setting up the network. The Ministry of Information Technology has sanctioned Rs 3,334 crore for the necessary infrastructure.

The company is also planning to expand its employee base from the current 600 to 750 by next year.

- CyberMedia News