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Cable
over Net — BPL Innovision to invest Rs 500 cr in Kerala project
BPL
Innovision Group is planning to invest Rs 500 crore for laying fibre optic
cables and for setting up infrastructure to provide cable over Internet
service in all parts of Kerala within the next four to five years. The
BPL Group, which is one of the licencees for operating mobile phone services
in the state, has already sought permission from the Kerala Government
for laying optical fibre cables.
The BPL Innovision Group has already tied up with cable operators in Thrissur,
Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram districts for providing Internet over
cable. It is estimated that out of the 16 lakh homes which have colour
TV, over 10 lakh have cable TV connectivity. Therefore, a high-quality
broadband network will help the company deliver cable TV, Internet and
interactive services to the existing cable TV subscribers, according to
M P Ramankutty Nair, chief business development officer, BPL Innovision.
“BPL would leverage its expertise and core competence in telecommunication
infrastructure projects by providing quality Internet services in the
state,” Ramankutty Nair added.
| The BPL Innovision Group has already tied up with cable operators in Thrissur, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram districts for providing Internet over cable |
The uniqueness of the joint venture with cable operators is that cable
operators would continue to get the revenue from cable TV operations but
revenue from Internet and interactive services would be shared between
BPL and the cable operators.
BPL Innovision is yet to address the issues relating to the high cost
of cable modems and connectivity charges to be levied from customers.
The cable networks would be fully operational within six months, Ramankutty
Nair said. In the event of the State Government not providing time-bound
clearances for laying optical cables, the new JV will have to install
overhead fibre optical cables, he added. BPL Innovision has tied up with
200 operators in Thiruvananthapuram, 350 operators in Thrissur and 150
in Kottayam district. “The possibilities of Internet cable are limitless
with the growing importance of e-commerce, video-on-demand, Internet access,
online education, online shopping etc,” Ramankutty Nair said.
BPL Innovision is in the process of laying optical fibre installations
in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where the company could get
clearances from State Government quickly because of the single window
clearance for such projects. However, in Kerala, the government is yet
to evolve a clear-cut policy in this regard which is leading to delay
in the project.
R Sreekumar