Bharti eyes 1 mn users by end-2004 in Mumbai

Bharti Tele-Ventures is looking at doubling its subscriber base in Mumbai to one million by end of 2004.

The telecommunications major is also looking at doubling it existing coverage of 1,300 towns across the country by March 2005.

Hemant Sachdev, director - marketing, said, "We are looking at realising our dream of one million subscribers in the Mumbai circle by the end of calendar 2004." Bharti's subscriber base is expected to cross 5,00,000 by end of January.

Bharti is the market leader in Delhi, Chennai, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

"There is very good steam in the market and we are looking at doubling up the number of towns that we service by the end of the coming financial year," Sachdev said.

There are a lot of technology enhancement announcements in the fray to strengthen the service provider's customer base, he added.

The company has 6 million subscribers across the country, about 4.5 million pre-paid customers and about 1.5 million post-paid subscribers. "We are hoping to change the mix by around 30 per cent in the coming months," Sachdev said.

Bharti's operations in the six new circles will begin by September this year. "We have already taken offices in these regions and have begun recruitments. We are expecting to get the new unified license agreement by next week, after which we will be applying for the spectrum ," Sachdev said.

Meanwhile the company has announced some customer initiatives for its Mumbai subscribers in the form of 'easy charge' schemes and family plan initiatives.

While the 'easy charge' plan enables pre-paid subscribers to top up their pre paid cards with any value, the scheme also facilitates 'anytime recharge'.

The family plan allows customers from different cities to enjoy benefits under two tariif plans of Rs 450 and Rs 1,000.

"The family plan will allow subscribers about 25-30 per cent more usage at a similar cost of normal individual retail packs."