Date:19/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/19/stories/2008071955441700.htm

Business

Tata Teleservices to expand

Staff Reporter

Kochi: Tata Teleservices is gearing up for expansion and improvement of its services in the State.

The telecom company, which has been rated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), as having the least congested point of interconnection — calls to other networks connect faster — in the first quarter of this year, is taking measures to improve its network in the northern parts of the State, besides Alappuzha.

Thirty-three towns will be covered as part of this in the next three months. Addressing a press gathering here on Friday, Tata Teleservices chief operating officer (Kerala) Surya Mahadevan said the plan was to raise its customer base from 6.5 lakh to 10 lakh by next March.

“High-speed internet connections with a download speed of 2 mbps, much like broadband, should also be here in three months. We also intend to roll out our GSM, which is currently being tested, by this year-end,” he said.

Mr. Mahadevan said the walkie-talkie that was launched in the State two months ago was a success. “The cordless landline has two versions: while the one with an eight-digit has connectivity within a telecom district, a ten-digit connection works across the State.