Indiacom to expand operation nationwide

Indiacom, a leading producer of telephone directory in India, is planning to expand to other parts of the country.

On the launch of the company's Yellow Pages in Vadodara, Managing Director Ashok Mandore said, "We have planned to expand in more cities," adding that the company intends to double its presence by the year-end. The company's is currently present in 21 cities.

"We want to expand our operations not only in bigger cities but also in smaller cities," said Mandore. The company intends to make inroads in regions such as Goa, Aurangabad, several cities of Maharastra and Gujarat and in north India.

"We have a strong presence in Gujarat and will soon venture into Surat," he said.

Mandore said, "We will introduce new concepts in the cities where we are present. One of the concepts is to have a local area specific directory. This concept has been proven successful in Pune."

Currently, Indiacom has a local directory for even neighborhood areas under the 'Near By' title.

"As and when the cities develop, we shall introduce city-based local directories," Mandore added. The company will also reach out to telephone subscriber through direct home delivery of the yellow pages.

"We are experimenting door-to-door delivery system in a big way this year. We envisage effective delivery to the people," he said.

According to the company, in FY06 the telephone directory industry registered 20 per cent growth. It is expected to grow faster at 30 per cent in FY07. The company had revenue of Rs 25 crore in the last financial year.

The estimated market size is Rs 200 to 250 crore, of which the company claims to command 15 to 20 per cent.

To start voice service in Gujarat

After successfully launching a voice service pilot project in Pune, Indiacom intends to increase its operations to internet and phone in Gujarat.

Ashok Mandore, MD, , said, "Our next step is to introduce voice services in Gujarat in six months." The voice service will initially be available in Ahmedabad and later be launched in Vadodara.

"We will gradually take our voice service across Gujarat," Mandore added.

Indiacom will set up a call centre at Ahmedabad to cater to the voice-based services. At present, it has a call centre in Pune.