There are several others which have been targeted and have agreed to go in for a change but the company remains tightlipped, waiting for operations to start before revealing the list of clients.

The service, which has already started in Pune and Navi Mumbai, which have 2,000 subscribers so far, was to have commenced in Mumbai by now. It is learnt that certain tests are being carried out on the systems and the company hopes to start off in the commercial capital in a month or two.

The Mumbai operations would,for a start, be carried through the Worli exchange which will reach out to residents across the city through 12 cell sites. Hughes Ispat is looking at 26,000 lines from Worli, and 15,000 each from Pune and Navi Mumbai, still way behind the 18 lakh subscriber base of MTNL which is expected to touch the 20-lakh or 2-million mark by end-March.

Nevertheless, Hughes Ispat has started reaching out to the corporates, its task being made easier with a number of them shifting to in and around Worli, the hub for the company's operations. Ceat has already struck a deal with Hughes Ispat and so have some other RPG group companies. A separate remote controlling unit is being installed for the company which means that the company could be looking at about 300 lines. This is expected to be operational in six weeks. The country's largest stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange, is also planning to shift a part of its 300-line base at Mahindra Towers and Kamla Mills to the private service provider.

A senior HughesIspat official said that they were definitely looking at wooing top corporates in addition to individual subscribers. "We will be able to comment on the results of our exercise only after a couple of months once we have finalised the tie-ups", said the official. The USP for the private service operator is that its service is tamper proof, considering that the subscribers' access to the exchange does not hinge on a copper wire cable which can be tampered with.