PRESS RELEASE

Agra, November 1, 2004:

Hutch, India's only pure play cellular service, today launched its services in UP West & Uttaranchal with the widest cellular network in the region. It also announced a special range of Hindi-language value added services such as Voice Response in Hindi, SMS in Hindi and Bill in Hindi; a host of multimedia mobile services and an extensive customer care network. The launch of Hutch in UP West & Uttaranchal was announced by Asim Ghosh, Managing Director, Hutchison Essar, in Agra today.

Announcing the launch of Hutch, Asim Ghosh, said, "I am delighted to be in Agra today. UP West is an important part of our presence in North India. I am very happy to be a part of the team that has put the latest cellular network in place for UP West & Uttaranchal especially Dehra Dun and Mussorie which have great childhood memories for me."

Hutch is one of the leading international cellular brands in Hutchison Telecom's family of international communications brands that has already established itself across the country. Hutch has been conceptualized and developed by the same team which created Orange, which is today recognised as an outstanding global marketing success story.

Hutch users can now enjoy connectivity across 140 towns and cities in UP West & Uttaranchal, covering over 1000 kms of national and state highways on the Hutch cellular network. Hutch users can also experience the latest range of multimedia mobile services such as Hutch TV, push2talk, mobile gaming; as well as get Mandi rates and astrology updates by dialing a single number.

Commenting on the UP West Hutch network, Rajiv Sawhney, Executive Director, Hutchison Essar said, "We want to provide the latest range of multimedia mobile content to our users – whether its for keeping in touch with others, for information or entertainment. Multimedia applications such as Hutch TV, push2talk, Click&Print and MS Outlook on mobile phones are some of the unique services available only to Hutch users. We have led the development and adoption of GPRS-based multimedia services in India and have over 2 lac GPRS users. Users in UP West too will now be able to experience these services, using the enhanced EDGE-enabled network."

Commenting on Hutch's circle-wide presence, Rohit Adya, Chief Operating Officer, Hutch UP West & Uttaranchal said, "People in UP West & Uttaranchal travel extensively within the region. We have focussed on seamless connectivity across state and national highways, railway routes and commercial centres.The Hutch network is already present across 140 towns and cities. In addition to providing 24-hour customer care through a dedicated customer service helpline, we are also opening 2 Hutch Shops and 18 Hutch teleshops for the convenience of our subscribers."

Speaking about the special services for Hutch users, Rohit Adya, said, "Hutch users in UP West & Uttaranchal will get an enhanced 32 K SIM card which allows for a 250 number phone book. For the first time, Hutch subscribers in this region will be able to get Mandi Rates on their Hutch phones, they can listen to arti, gita shlok, bhajan by dialing a single number."

About Hutch

Hutchison Essar has licenses for 13 circles in India - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, East UP, UP West and Uttaranchal and West Bengal & Sikkim. Hutchison Essar now has a combined subscriber base of about 6 and a half million cellular subscribers. Hutch and its services are rated the best on a number of parameters: it is rated as 'Best Mobile Service in the Country' by the national TNS survey of mobile users; named 'Most Respected Telecom Company' by Business World; named 'Creative Advertiser of the Year' and has won the 'Campaign of the Year' award of the annual Abby 2004 advertising awards.

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