JTM is a joint venture between Telia of Sweden and Bharti Enterprises, of which the latter holds majority stake and management control.

JTM chief operating officer Deepak Gulati told The Financial Express that the 128 mbps OFC network was aimed at creating a transmission backbone across Andhra Pradesh. Further investments in this regard were likely, he said.

The network will connect Andhra Pradesh to Karnataka's OFC line and eventually link both the states along with Chennai to Madhya Pradesh (where Bhrati already has 3000 Km of OFC.

``Bharti TeleNet Ltd, a concern of Bharti Enterprises operates as a private basic telephone licensee in Madhya Pradesh using the OFC network. The backbone network being created would provide an information super highway for telecom, IT and domestic long distance services,'' said JTM CEO Bhadri Aggarwal.

In terms of service, improved quality, better coverage and extension of facilities in more cities would be part of the expansion plan, Gulati said. Service in eight new cities in Karnataka-Belgaum, Hubli, Dharwad, Davangere, Shimoga, Udupi, Manipal and Gulbarga-will be operational by end-March 2000, he said.

``We are also actively looking at setting up more sites (towers) for increased coverage to the suburbs in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Close to 20 new sites would be put up in addition to the existing 30 in Karnataka,'' Gulati said.

Investments and measures towards enhancing switching capacity and technology to eliminate call congestion during transmission were also being worked out, he added.

The company is also looking at increasing value-added services for customer convenience. A special pre-paid card facility is expected to be rolled out before mid-2000, Gulati said.

Increased services like web-messaging and short messaging service (SMS) which are currently under soft launch, more customer-care showrooms and lowered tariff rates were expected to double the existing 85,000 subscriber base of the company across the two states, Gulati said.

JTM Ltd is expected to notch up a turnover of Rs 110 crore during the current fiscal against Rs 96 crore in the previous year. ``We are working towards becoming the largest operator in these two states and consolidating our presence in the south is also part of our strategy,'' Gulati said.