Aksh Optifibre mainly manufactures Optical Fibre Cables (OFC), Optical Fibre and Fibre Reinforced Plastics Rod. In fact it is one of the largest manufacturers of OFCs in the country with a capacity of 9,99,000 Cable KM. In 1999-2000 it changed its focus to manufacturing exclusively optic fibre and optic fibre cables. Besides it hived off the copper division and acquired optic Fibre division of CMI Ltd., a telecom cable manufacturer. It went for further backward integration by merging Telecords Pvt. Ltd. for the manufacture of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) rods. Now the company has FRP capacity of 1 million kilometer. Currently the company has two plants, one at Bhiwadi and another one at Jaitpura in Rajasthan.

Stabilization of Fiber prices and rise in demand:

With prices of fibre stabilizing and demand for Optical Fibre Cables rising, the industry is looking for a good show in the near future. Over the medium term, the demand for Optical Fibre Cables in India is expected to rise with the growing popularity FTTH (Fiber to the Home) in the country. Also the demand for bandwidth by various users and utility players will keep the demand for Optical Fibre Cables in a healthy state.

Increasing Service Focus:

Currently the spurt in demand of OFCs has been mainly due to the rising bandwidth demand by various users. However sensing the commoditization of the OFC business, the company has diversified into services in a bigger way for better margins and sustainability of the earnings. For this the company has planned to merge its group company Aksh Broadband with itself and has sought the shareholder approval for changing the object clause. Aksh broadband is currently implementing the triple play (Television, Telephone and Internet) broadband project in the state of Andhra Pradesh as a BOOT project. The company has signed up an MOU with AP government for setting up of optic-fiber based 10 GB network up to the district level. Named as AP Broadband, the project (Total cost Rs.4,000m, funded through Rs.1,750m equity) is based on a BOO (Built-Own-Operate) model and Aksh Broadband is the largest equity partner in the SPV (Rs.1,130m in total equity of Rs.1,750m). In terms of applications, the company plans to provide a true triple play experience to its subscribers at more affordable price of Rs.100 per month.

Last mile broadband unbundling deal with MTNL:

The company has entered into an agreement with MTNL to provide broadband content service to the broadband subscribers of MTNL. Currently these broadband services are being provided by MTNL through ADSL modems only for Internet use. With the rising interest for IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) among the consumers in the two metros the initiative is expected to be a major success for the company. As per the agreement Aksh will retain 75% of revenue of the broadband content service and rest will go to MTNL.