Calls to doctors will cost different from calls to office

How has been your overall experience in the Indian market?



We have been in the Indian market since the last three years and the

experience has been good so far. We carried studies on consumers, and searched

for potential partners and service providers. After finding it lucrative we

decided to start our service here.

There were some security concerns raised on your company, and your license

was also held for this reason. What is the status now?



It was a false allegation. All our personnel in India are Indians. They are

working in the country they live in. We have a few experts from Russia who are

working with us. Every one knows about the close ties that Russia and India

have. An official from the Department of Telecom, on September 18, 2008

mentioned in a court affidavit that Bycell complies with the letter of intention

guidelines. We don't have any pending issues with the government and are waiting

for the license.

How has been the government's attitude toward Bycell post-complaint?



The government did its every bit to ensure that there are no security

issues.The verification procedures had been very slow and are not in line with

present market dynamics. The government should consider the number of jobs that

Bycell will generate and contribute to its revenue in the coming days. So far

the company has made investments of Rs 100 crore.

What is the status of infrastructure development in all five circles?



We have started building network without waiting for the license. To develop

the network, Bycell has already issued a proposal on June 15, 2008. At the

moment we are processing proposals from all vendors.

Why did you choose the rural areas, especially the East and North-east of

India?



Most states that we are going to cover have low teledensity, especially the

North East, which has got literate and English-speaking people. We have observed

that these people quickly adapt themselves to new technology. Therefore, we see

more use of mobile phones in these cases.

What innovations will we get to see from Bycell?



We are going to come out with tariffs where time will not be a major factor.

Our tariff plan will depend on segments. Tariff for making calls to doctors will

be different from tariff for making calls to the office. There will be various

tariff plans on this kind of communication model.

Prasoon Srivastava



prasoons@cybermedia.co.in