“We will merge Tatanova with our newly-branded Internet service Tata Indicom in order to have a single identity.”, VSNL director operations N Srinath said.

With a share of a mere two percent in Indian ISP market, Tatanova has around 50,000 connections, integration of which with VSNL has already commenced.

Known as “Smart ISP”, Tatanova is operational in the form of cybercafes in five cities and offers IP-based Virtual Private Networks, standard or customised Internet Data Centre services, and a host of value-added and industry-specific solutions.

Under a new retail thrust, VSNL has now decided to offer its benchmark information, communication and entertainment services under the umbrella brand of “Tata Indicom”.

VSNL will offer its rebranded internet services through over 2,400 retail outlets across the country and currently is present in eight locations— Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Pondicherry and Coimbatore.

Says Mr. Srinath, who has mastered this new avataar of VSNL, “We are also planning to expand to over 20 locations by the end of this fiscal. Our new thrust on retailing is an important effort to bring the consumer nearer”.