WorldSpace, the global satellite radio broadcaster with the world's largest footprint, has announced an ambitious national rollout drive that it expects will reach over 90 million people by the yearend.

"After the Delhi launch, we will launch in Mumbai next week. This will be followed by launches in Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Cochin by November," said WorldSpace's managing director Deepak Varma.

With a low profile existence over the past four years, the Bangalore headquartered subscription-based broadcaster is determined to make a major dent in the highly competitive radio sector.

To facilitate its expansion drive, WorldSpace plans to pump $10 million into its Indian operations in the current calendar year, Varma said here.

Over 1,000 retail outlets across the country will soon stock WorldSpace receivers and the company will put in place a comprehensive after sales service network.

Customers can buy different WorldSpace receivers ranging in price from Rs.3,790 to over Rs.12,000 from four different manufacturers and have to pay Rs.1,800 a year as subscription for the entire bouquet of channels that are advertisement free.

The 39 channels in its bouquet feature current Hindi music, Hindi classics, Hindustani classical, country, classic rock, jazz, international hits, Western classical, pop, regional channels in languages like Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu and seven news channels.

WorldSpace also has plans to introduce more channels, including a Punjabi and a Marathi channel.

Also on the anvil are exclusive listening lounges for potential customers to sample its offerings in a relaxed atmosphere. Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad will get two such lounges this year, while Delhi and Mumbai will get three each.