Atria Convergence Technologies targets one million customer base

The company currently doing a net addition of around 20,000 connections a month

Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT), Bengaluru-based optical fiber-based Internet services provider, is aiming at reaching the milestone of one-million subscriber base at national level in the next one year, according to chief executive officer Bala Malladi.

"While players like BSNL, MTNL and Airtel are growing at 3% per year, we are growing at 43% annually. We are hopeful of achieving our targets in the next one year or so," he told mediapersons here on Monday.

ACT, which has a customer base of close to 700,000 across Hyderabad, Benguluru, Chennai, and several locations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, claims to be the fourth largest wired-broadband provider in Hyderabad with 450,000 connections, and the largest independent Internet services provider (ISP) in the country after telcos.

With over 140,000 connections in Bengaluru, commanding a market share of 25%, and cornering about 6% share of the Chennai market, ACT currently is doing a net addition of around 20,000 connections a month.

Announcing the name change of Beam Fiber, a broadband brand in Hyderabad which ACT had acquired in 2009, to ACT Fibernet, Malladi said the company would eventually go for a national play out by entering into at least one new city every year with an investment commitment of Rs 100 crore for each location.

Private equity investment fund, India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA), partnered ACT group to grow the business six-and-a-half years ago. Thus far, ACT has seen an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore, with a majority being flown in from IVFA. ACT reported a turnover of Rs 500 crore in 2013 and currently has a run rate of Rs 800 crore.

ACT Fibernet today launched 'Incredible 100 Mbps', a product with 200 GB of download limit which it claims to be the country's first for the retail subscribers, and a 250 mbps plan with a one Terabyte data limit for enterprises and businesses.

According to Malladi, ACT will be embarking on a go-to-market plan till May 2015 for which it has earmarked Rs 10 crore. The company has already piloted a WiFI hotspot at a mall in Hyderabad and is in the process of evaluating opportunities to create more such zones across the city in due course, he added.