Rank 34: Hughes Tele.com: Multiple Access

During 2001-02, Hughes Tele.com posted a turnover of Rs 252.5 crore, with a

growth of 62 percent. Its subscriber lines grew by 13 percent to 159,500 lines.

The company’s services are now available in 10 cities in the states of

Maharashtra a  d Goa–Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Panjim, Nasik, Nagpur,

Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Aurnagabad, Sangli. Hughes is using multiple access

strategies like broadband wirelines, point-to-multi-point fixed wireless, and

fixed wireless (WiLL) to provide communication services to its customers.

Hughes Tele.com intends to expand its network within these existing 10

cities, besides establishing village public telephones (VPTs). In FY 2001-02,

Hughes launched its VPT services in the remote areas in the Sinhagad Valley of

Pune district. This will be further extended to the rural districts of

Ghadchiroli and Chandrapur. It has also launched broadband services in Mumbai,

riding on 1,200-km long fiber optic lines in the city.

During fiscal 2001-02, Hughes had invested Rs 380 crore on network and other

infrastructure. Now, the network capacity exceeds 200,000 lines and will be

further enhanced to 250,000 lines during the current fiscal. The company expects

its total investment to be about Rs 3,485 crore by March 2004.

Hughes Tele.com TURNOVER FACTSHEET CEO : George Varghese Address : Ispat House, BG Kher Marg Worli, Mumbai 400 018 Tel  : 022-4615445 Fax: : 022-4605516 Web site : www.hughestele.com S W O T Strength  : Network Weakness : Funding problems Opportunity : Growing limited mobility services market Threat  : New operators offering services in the CDMA space

In a major development in June 2002, Tata Teleservices took a 51 percent

stake in Hughes Tele.com, putting an end to ongoing speculations in this regard.