NEW DELHI: The mobile services are expected to be fully operational by October 2 and BSNL would cover 850 cities by the end of the year, IT and Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan told media persons here, while launching the brand. The minister said it would be BSNL's target to cover all district centers through cellular services by the end of the current fiscal year. Asked about tariffs of the cellular services, Mahajan said these were being worked out and would be announced soon. BSNL officials said that the company, which manages a mammoth fixed-line phone services network across the country, was hoping to attract 2.5 million customers through its CellOne brand by the end of the first year of operations. The entry of BSNL in cellular operations comes in the wake of stagnation of growth in the fixed-line telephones business while growth in the cellular service is expected to continue for the next 5-10 years. According to one forecast, India, with just over six million mobile customers in a nation of more than one billion, is set to see its telecom market grow at 24 percent annually over the next three years. Salomon Smith Barney expects the cellular user base to swell to 46 million by 2005 while the industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) sees it at 44 million. India has eight million mobile phone users now and private operators provide the bulk of the services. State-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) provides cellular services in Mumbai and New Delhi. BSNL's entry into the mobile phone business is expected to unfold another round of fierce tariff war that has currently gripped private players in the segment.
Source: IANS