Thursday, June 30 2005 19:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Within days of getting India's biggest private telecom company Reliance Infocomm, Anil Ambani's group today (Jun 30, 2005) approached the Government for a licence for entering the competitive Direct-to-Home (DTH) services.

The group, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises, applied to Information and Broadcasting Ministry for the licence though it is not clear as to which company of his is the applicant.

When contacted, the Infocomm spokesperson declined to comment on the issue. This is the first major step taken by Anil to expand the business of Infocomm, which he got as part of the settlement with elder brother Mukesh along with Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital.

Prasar Bharati and Zee group are already operating their DTH services in the country while Sun Group of Kalanidhi Maran, brother of IT and Communication Minister Dayanidhi Maran, and the Tata-Star joint venture, Space TV, have recently been given the go-ahead for DTH by the Government.