Date:05/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/05/stories/2005080501571900.htm

Back Tata Indicom to cover 350 towns

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Aug 4

TATA Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) plans to expand its footprint in Andhra Pradesh from 230 towns to 350 towns, increase its subscriber base from 6,50,000 to one million, and invest Rs 350 crore during the course of the financial year. The company's Chief Operating Officer, for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Mr Prabhat Pani, said this would mean expansion of the network in the existing cities and towns and also into new towns across the State, complementing the 1500-km uninterrupted continuous connectivity across a major road network in the State.

Launching a range of new services and handsets, including a feature-rich Ego smart phone, Mr Pani said Telugu Voice Station, a voice portal, would provide information and entertainment in the native language for Tata Indicom users.

The voice station would allow people to speak to the phone and surf through a range of services, including Telugu movie specials, Tirupati zone, chart busters and news.

Based on the response, Tata Teleservices, which operates in about 20 circles now, planned to roll out similar services in other languages as well.