Sun DTH to go for pan-India expansion

Direct-to-home service provider Sun Direct TV, which is already operating in the south, will be rolling out its operations in the Hindi speaking belt in over a month's time, in a bid to become the second largest DTH operator in the country.

"Within 45 days we will be expanding in the Hindi speaking belts of India. Our services will be launched in Assam and Orissa first, in our second phase of expansion," Sun Direct TV Chief Operating Officer Tony D'Silva said.

He said the Chennai-based company has planned to launch services gradually in other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, aiming a customer base of three million subscribers, by the end of this fiscal.

"Going by what we have achieved in South India we are confident of replicating the same model in other parts of the country and our aim is to be the number two DTH player in the country by the end of this fiscal with about three million subscribers," D'Silva said.

Sun Direct TV, which was launched in December 2007 in South India currently has services available in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Puducherry with 1.2 million subscribers, he added.

Asked about investments for its planned pan-India expansion, he declined to divulge details.

"DTH is a very capital intensive industry but we have the capacity to invest what is required for the expansion," he said.