MUMBAI: After Siticable, it is the turn of Hathway Cable & Datacom to take the acquisition route. The Rajan Raheja promoted multi system operator (MSO) has acquired 51 per cent stake in two local cable TV networks in Chandigarh and Mohali.

By entering into a joint venture with FCN and CCN, Hathway will have to contend against Siticable which is the largest MSO in Chandigarh. FCN operates in both Chandigarh and Mohali and is jointly promoted by Maninder Singh Lovely and Manmohan Singh Bajwa. CCN services Chandigarh and is promoted by Bajwa. which caters to around 30 per cent of the Chandigarh subscriber base.

"We are planning to launch digital cable TV and broadband services soon. These two cities are good markets for both the products. We get almost 80 per cent of Mohali's and around 30 per cent of Chandigarh's subscriber base," says Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman.

The joint venture will soon see the roll out of Hathways services in Panchkula also. "After being the leading service providers in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, Hathways joint venture with FCN and CCN will further strengthen the existing networks with the state of art technology," the company said in a release.

Hathway's cable TV is already available in 11 cities across the nation including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Nashik, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Vijaywada, Jalandhar and Mysore. The MSO is currently offering digital cable services in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and will commence shortly in Hyderabad.