We want to add 2.5 lakh subscribers in the next two years

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What made you offer prepaid services in the IPTV segment?
The introduction of prepaid services is basically to bring an ease to the existing subscribers. Now, subscribers don't have to deposit their bills, as they have an option of getting recharge vouchers at their doorsteps. This has made Aksh Optifibre as the first player in the Indian IPTV history to bring prepaid option for subscribers. The prepaid option is available in all cities where iControl has its presence. As proven by telecom operators, India is largely a prepaid market (more than 90%). This trend will also greatly help us to attract subscribers as this will enable them to enjoy uninterrupted television viewing service. This will further ensure that subscribers have a control on their expenditure. With the advent of features like Chill & Cool and introduction of this prepaid option, we are eyeing to add at least 2.5 lakh subscribers in the next two years.

What is the USP of your products?
Aksh Optifibre's IPTV service, namely iControl, gives subscribers full right to entertainment starting from viewing all premium channels, and it is currently broadcasting more than 140 channels. The video on-demand is not a vanilla feature unlike other services, as there are more than 300 movies in iControl's inbuilt gallery ranging from Bollywood, Hollywood, and regional with rewind, fast forward, and pause options. These movies keep on updating and almost 35% of them are free of charge.

The Chill & Cool feature is the USP of the product. Subscribers can watch programs that they have missed on their favorite channels as per their convenience by reviewing past seven days missed program at their desired time without actually recording it. The content of all the channels is stored at Aksh Optfibre's back-end server. One can even rewind, pause, and fast forward live channels.

iControl also comes with a plethora of other features as well, like sending/receiving instant messages form other iControl IPTV users, creating their own address book, interactive gaming, etc. Other features are: A-tube which is a pull format of video classifieds bringing options for the low budget advertisers; i-mall which is a shopping platform, etc.

Apart from IPTV, what are the other services on offer?
Besides, IPTV, we also offer a VoIP service, namely Pigeon. With Pigeon, users can make international calls from their MTNL number using any telephone instrument without the need of a PC or any other device. It gives an option of calling more than hundred countries at Re 1. With Pigeon VoIP, you can have additional 'virtual' phone lines without having to pay for new cabling.

Akhilesh Shukla
akhileshs@cybermedia.co.in