Hcl To Launch Net Services In 42 Cities

HCL Infinet, the wholly-owned subsidiary of HCL Infosystems, has announced the launch of its advanced value added Internet services across 42 cities.

The company has also lined up a host of alliances to sharpen its e-commerce initiatives. It is in talks with several international partners for tieups in the B2B (business-to-business) space.

In the first phase of its Internet offering, HCL Infinet will launch its services in 42 cities in August. New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahemedabad will be amongst the first metros. Within a month, the company plans to introduce its services in 30 other cities.

 

To ensure reliability of services, the company has set up the largest ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) frame relay network. The company's offerings in the B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments include access, virtual private network (VPN), application service provider (ASP), hosting, networking, e-commerce and a horizontal portal www.hclinfinet.com. This portal will be launched for the B2C segment before the ISP services commence.

Ajai Chowdhry, chairman and chief executive officer of HCL Infosystems said, "We are now fully equipped to provide B2B and B2C Internet services that are unique in terms of technology, quality, reliability and security. This market will see immense growth with innovative services in areas of content, information delivery and e-commerce."

The company will also tie up with existing portals, content providers and service organisations for e-commerce.

"With this (e-commerce) being the basis of our offerings, we are initiating some of the best appliances with existing portals, content providers and service organisations for shopping and travel, among other things," Chowdhry said.

"With the existing service support network of our parent company, we are the only Internet service provider with such a vast geographical spread and infrastructure in the country," said Saurav Adhikari, president, HCL Infinet.

"This, along with our cross-spectrum value-added service offerings will benefit both corporates and consumers. Corporates will be able to implement E2E (end-to-end) e-business strategies with speed, skill and finesse. And the individual user will now be equipped to leverage the Internet in several exciting new ways," Adhikari added.

HCL Infinet estimates that the B2B market in India will grow from US $15 million in 1999-2000 to over US $180 million by 2002. Given HCL Infosystems' strong relationship with 5,000 corporates countrywide, HCL Infinet will leverage this base for gaining a large share of the B2B market.