Bpl Drafts Mumbai Spread Plan

BPL Mobile has chalked out investment and expansion plans in Mumbai ahead of Bharti Tele-Ventures' launch of cellular services as the fourth operator in May/June.

The company is planning to invest in new technologies and expand its existing network to accommodate fresh subscribers.

Though the company executives declined to comment on the funds set aside for expansion, BPL Mobile is spending funds for launching value-added services on platforms such as general packet radio services (GPRS) and short-messaging services.

"We are coming out with a number of non-voice value-added services in the next few months. We are also currently preparing a business plan for the next fiscal and the board approval is expected shortly," said Deepak Varma, president and chief executive officer, BPL Mobile.

 

As on February 28, the subscriber-base of BPL Mobile grew to 4.06 lakh from 3.78 lakh in December 2001. "The subscriber-base has been increasing in the past few months and we should add another few thousands in the current month. The entry of Bharti as the fourth operator will also help increase the size of the market," Varma said here today.

At present, pre-paid users account for 57 per cent of the company's total subscriber-base, while the balance 43 per cent is post-paid subscribers.

"The growth of BPL's pre-paid users is faster than the post-paid subscribers. The reduction in pre-paid card prices has already attracted more users," he added.

BPL Mobile, which launched GPRS in Mumbai, has added around 1,200 users. It is closely working with some leading corporates to extend the scope of the GPRS. GPRS allows users to get Net connection by plugging the mobile phone into their PC, laptop or palmtop.

According to Varma, the company has tied up with Playwin Infrawest, a part of the Essel group, for its online lottery venture. As per the partnership, Playwin's online lottery will utilise BPL Mobile's GPRS network.

Playwin is planning to connect 1,000 online lottery centres over a period of time.