MUMBAI, Aug 4: DSS Mobile has tied up with Beltron and Punwire to provide seamless national roaming paging service by the year end. The company is also targeting a subscription base of one million by 2000.

This is part of the paging service operator's strategy to expand its market. "The national level roaming service will be on a single frequency," company vice-president (technical) SH Lee said.

"Once paging service is kicked off at the national level, subscribers will fuel expansion of the market for the product. This is true where there are no cellular and land-line phone penetration".

DSS Mobile currently offers its services on the frequency bands of 166.6625 (ch 2) for Mumbai and 166.3625 (ch 2) for Delhi. In other centres like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Pune, the frequency is 166.4375 (ch 1).

DSS Mobile has a 31 per cent market share in the paging business with a total subscriber base of 142,486 in ten cities as per end-June figures. Lee feels that his company's market share will always be above 30 per cent even after the fourth and fifth operator becomes functional in cities that it is operating in.

"The share of the ten cities in which DSS Mobile is operational will always be around 50 per cent of the total market, though currently, it is around 80 per cent," company sources say.

The company has estimated that the penetration level of paging over the next decade will be around 4 per cent of the population. It comes to around 25 million by 2005.

DSS Mobile will now focus on its existing subscribers and their callers. "Of its total subscriber base, DSS Mobile will continue to look for the high-user group for the launch of its special value-added services," said Lee.

The company is optimistic of crossing the one-million target subscriber base before the summer of 2000. It plans to add a further three-to-four million by March, 2007.

DSS Mobile is a 51:49 joint venture between the Dalmia group and Korean partners, SK Telecom (29.5 per cent) and Samsung (19.5 per cent), with an equity base of Rs 19 crore.

The Dalmia-owned GTC Industries sold its stake in DSS Mobile to Dalmia the group company, Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd (GHCL). The latter now has a 27 per cent stake in DSS Mobile.

This deal was executed as GTC industries was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). In February 1997, GTC Industries went to the BIFR with a total accummulated losses of Rs 67.73 crore. This had wiped out of its Rs 54.92 crore net worth. Further, the central excise had served a showcause notice on the company for alleged duty evasion of Rs 350 crore.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.