News from Dec 15,2004
WebSky, Inc. and World Wide Wireless -- India -- Enter into Definitive Joint Venture Agreement for Broadband Wireless Internet Project in India
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 15, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WebSky, Inc. (OTC:WBSK) announced today that it has entered into a definitive joint venture agreement with World Wide Wireless (India), a New Delhi based telecommunications company, to develop a Next Generation wireless broadband service, to be initially launched in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay) and Ludhiana (Punjab).
Under the terms of the agreement, a Joint Venture to be known as WebSky (India), Ltd. will be establish to provide non-line-of-sight wireless broadband internet services over licensed frequencies. The first location to be developed will be in the industrial city of Ludhiana in Punjab State, to be followed thereafter by the development of the New Delhi and Mumbai projects. The venture plans to construct the project using advanced non-line-of-sight equipment which allows for fixed, portable, and eventually mobile connectivity within the service areas. The system will be fully compatible with, and adaptable to, new chipsets and related hardware currently being developed for advanced wireless broadband services by companies such as Intel.
Ludhiana, with 1.5 million inhabitants, is a one of the major cities of Punjab, a northern state with a population of nearly 25 million. New Delhi has over 11 million inhabitants, and Mumbai (Bombay) has nearly 13 million residents. Despite India's well-deserved global reputation as a center of high tech and computer sciences, internet penetration rates are relatively low and broadband subscribers are represent only a small fraction of those subscribers. According to a recent report of the International Telecommunications Union, India, with a total population of over 1 billion, has approximately 4.1 million internet subscribers. Only 140,000 have broadband connections. However, internet penetration is growing at a rate of 12% per year. Although India possesses an extensive national fiber-optic network, antiquated wireline infrastructure has prevented widespread consumer availability of traditional broadband services in the country. The Indian government has recently established a clear public policy to encourage the rapid expansion of a broadband system throughout the subcontinent.
As in most emerging markets, the limited availability of broadband connections has resulted in very high consumer costs - as of July, 2004 to lowest monthly subscription rates in India for broadband connectivity was $US16.82 per month per 100 kbps download speed compared to $1.77 in the United States. The relatively low capital expenditures required to construct such a system - as compared to wireline systems offering similar speeds and capacity - will facilitate the venture's ability to engage in price competition while maintaining high profit margins. The joint venture anticipates the launch of its first operations in India during the second quarter of 2005. WebSky India projects, based on modest market penetration assumptions along with continuing robust growth of the internet in India, that annual revenues for the three initial locations in the third year of operations will exceed $US45 million.
About WebSky, Inc.
WebSky, Inc. is a San Francisco based company that currently controls licensed radio frequencies in the MMDS-band - 2.5GHz to 2.7GHz - in seven small and medium sized cities in the United States in Key West, Florida; Ukiah, California; Las Crosse, Wisconsin; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Hilo, Hawaii; Aspen, Colorado; and Vail Colorado. The Company will be constructing high speed, wireless broadband Internet systems. In each of the locations where it is currently licensed to provide such services, and in prospective locations it is considering, the Company will be the first provider of such services to subscribers. In addition, WebSky has entered into agreements with local telecommunications companies in India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Argentina to developed wireless broadband systems in those countries.
SOURCE
AI
