Industry sources said that the new company is likely to provide Internet services through the independent cable operators who are outside the network of the two major cable companies, RPG Netcom of the RPG Group and Siti Cables, a wing of Zee Telefilms Ltd.

Sources also said that Chowdhary, whose main interests are in the wagon and paper industries, is trying to cash in on the recent boom in the information technology.

Omnicomm Webtech would be the third company after Caltiger.com and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to provide Internet services in the city. Moreover, RPG Netcom has already formed a 50:50 joint venture with Satyam Online for providing Internet connections to its subscribers. However, it is yet to launch its Internet operations.

In Calcutta's cable TV network, around 75 per cent of subscribers are hooked on to RPG Netcom, 20 per cent with Siti Cables and the remaining five cent belong to the independent cable operators, who resisted the lucrative offers of the previous two companies. Cable operators under Siti said the company would be providing Internet services through the network of Zee group. "The Zee group has licence for providing Internet services in the city.

So we do not need a new ISP," a cable operator said. Industry sources said that the independent cable operators are desperately looking for an ISP. "Cable connection without Internet services would become unattractive within a few more months. Just to survive they need an Internet service provider and it will be a good market for Omnicomm Webtech, who is a comparatively new entrant in this sector," sources clarified.

However, Siti officials could not confirm the launching of their Internet services. "At present, we are not too sure of the exact date but it is likely to be within the next three months as preliminary activities have already started," the official said. According to industry observers, out of the five lakh cable viewers in the city, around 25,000 are interested in Internet connection. "At present, there are about 6,000-7,000 Net surfers.