Sify Ltd, the Nasdaq-listed Internet service provider, has hinted at increasing its revenue run rate to Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) a year.
With a topline of Rs 199.8 crore (Rs 1.998 billion) during the previous fiscal ending March 31, 2003, it seems that a host of new initiatives should take the company to these numbers.
The fact that more customers are moving from dial-up to broadband, as well as huge corporate accounts in its Internet business would also chip in.
The networking and e-commerce services company registered revenues of Rs 60 crore (Rs 60 million) for the second quarter ended 30 September 2003.
"We have a revenue rate of Rs 300 crore a year. The Internet business is doing very well and we are growing at about 10-15 per cent quarter-on-quarter," George Zacharias, president and COO, told reporters.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the launch of Sify WiZones in Bangalore on Tuesday, Zacharias declined to comment further on the Rs 300 crore revenue run rate.
Though it is unclear as to how the company would achieve this topline growth, Sify has specified that it is not looking at the WiFi initiative to generate huge revenues initially.
"To begin with, we are expecting a business of Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) a year with this new initiative. We will focus on creating more hotspots across various towns and cities," Zacharias said.
The company has announced its first WiFi initiative in Bangalore, where it has already created 120 hotspots. It is looking at adding another 300 hotspots.
"Our decision to start with Bangalore is due to the high population of individuals with lap tops. We will gradually extend it to more towns and cities," Zacharias added.
Announcing that Bangalore was the first city in the country to be WiFi-enabled, Zacharias said the company is also in talks with various PC vendors on packaging the Sify WiFi offer along with the lap tops.
WiFi Internet access is priced at Re 1 a minute and offers internet access at speeds of 384 kbps for about 100 users who have simultaneously logged on to a network in a particular location.
Those without WiFi-enabled laptops can avail the WiFi card from any Sify outlet and go on to purchase Internet hours.
While Sify would incur anywhere between Rs 40,000-50,000 to WiFi enable a certain location, it would share its revenues with that particular location on a 70:30 basis. This should go a long way in encouraging more hotspots to be created around the cities.
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