WorldSpace is likely to start operations in Gujarat this year. The world's first satellite radio broadcast company is into broadcast of news, music and educational programs and reaches out to more than four billion people globally.
"We will officially launch our services in Gujarat by the end of 2005. At present WorldSpace India has both of NDTV's news channels, RM Radio (a Malayalam service from Asianet), CNN, Bloomberg and four channels from Sahara Radio. The number of channels on offer will go up to 50 by the end of this year," said Mohana Dhobl, manager, communications, WorldSpace India.
At present, sales efforts are being conducted in major Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Chennai.
In Gujarat, the limited broadcast is through dealers like J P Electronics in Gandhidham and Sidhartha Electronics in Bharuch.
WorldSpace satellite radio service covers the entire African zone, southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia with its two-satellite system. In India the service includes 40 radio channels covering around 50,000 people. Of this, 80 per cent are subscription-based users and the rest receive only the free to air channels.
WorldSpace is also in touch with the Indian government for a project that would provide fishermen with reliable and timely weather forecasts.
"The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had invited suggestions relating to the use of satellite radio in disaster warning. This will be particularly helpful in Gujarat," said Atul Sharma, regional head, WorldSpace, Mumbai.
On the company's strategy in Gujarat, Sharma said: "WorldSpace is a subscription-based service. We are targeting customers between ages 18 and 45. As of now we have 150 customers in Gujarat. But after the official launch, this number is going to rise.
"Our customers have to buy satellite radios from our dealers and pay a subscription fee of Rs 1,200 a year. The radios cost between Rs 3,160 and Rs 10,000."
The WorldSpace multilingual service offers a wide variety of programming with digital-quality sound. Listeners in India can choose news from various broadcasters like BBC, FOX News, NDTV, CNN and Bloomberg besides global music from WorldSpace in India.