MUMBAI: Andhra Pradesh Network (Apnet) - the interactive distance learning DTH project instituted by the Andhra Pradesh government - has moved up a gear as far as the rollout across the southern state is concerned.

The Rs 600 million project, for which the turnkey contract was awarded to the Gujarat-based Modern Communications and Broadcast Systems (MCBS) in 1994, went onstream in April in a limited number of centres in the state.

Apnet is a Ku band network for E-governence and distance learning that covers schools and educational institutes across the state. According to MSCB's Manish Jain, if all goes according to schedule, the network will constitute 2,000 centres by end December. That looks like a bit of a tall order though because the network at present covers 200 centres in the state, 140 of which are one-way receiving stations and 60 are Vsat terminals. The Vsat terminals have been installed at colleges and universities, Jain said yesterday on the sidelines of the Scat India trade show 2002 currently on in Mumbai.

MCBS has also supplied Ku band terminals for pubcaster Prasar Bharati, Jain said. Other notable projects the company has undertaken are the installation of large BARCONET headends to MSOs like RPG Netcom in Kolkata, the Star India backed Hathway and the Hinduja Group's INCableNet, he added.