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Sep 23 2004

Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. (532454.BY), India's second biggest mobile phone company, will launch its services in two new regions this month and the company aims to have full coverage over the country by the end of the current fiscal year, a senior Bharti official said Wednesday.

"We are ready to switch on our services in Jammu and Kashmir, and West Bengal this month," Rajan Mittal, Bharti's joint managing director told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. "By December, the Bihar and Orissa networks will also start operating."

Jammu and Kashmir state is in the northernmost part of India, where insurgent groups and a territorial dispute with neighboring Pakistan have led to periodic flare-ups of violence over many years.

Bihar is in northeastern India while Orissa and West Bengal are in eastern India.

"By the end of March 2005, we will be present in all states of the country," said Mittal.

Bharti, which uses Global System for Mobile Communication technology, currently has coverage in 17 of 23 regions in India, and has 8.28 million subscribers.

The company, with a budget of 6 billion rupees ($1=INR45.86), plans to launch new networks in seven regions this financial year, said Mittal.

So far, one new network in east Uttar Pradesh, located in north India, has been launched.

At the conference Wednesday, Bharti announced that its non-mobile businesses, comprising fixed-line and long-distance phone services, as well as enterprise and broadband services, will be brought under the "Airtel" brand used so far by its mobile segment.

"We will gain from economies of scale," said Mittal. "We will be able to start offering integrated communication services."

Bharti derives about 40% of its revenue from non-mobile businesses, which will likely see high growth once broadband and enterprise services become popular.

"Enterprise services is a focus area," said Manoj Kohli, the company's president of its mobility segment. "We have identified 800 companies that we are going to approach for integrated communications services."

Separately, Mittal didn't comment on media speculation that one of Bharti's larger shareholders, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (T48.SG), may raise its holding if the government increases the cap on foreign direct investment to 74%, from 49%.

Singapore Telecommunications owns a 28.46% stake in Bharti while private-equity firm Warburg Pincus L.L.C. (WBP.XX) holds a 15.17% stake.

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