Worldspace Inc. reported revenues of $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2006, up 35 percent from revenues of $2.6 million in the 2005 first quarter due to increased subscriber numbers, the company announced May 9.

Subscription revenue doubled to $1.6 million for the first quarter of 2006, compared with $800,000 for the first quarter of 2005, as Worldspace added more than 38,000 subscribers during the three-month period to bring its total number of subscribers to more than 153,000 at the end of March. At the end of the first quarter of 2005, Worldspace had a subscriber base of a little more than 18,000.

In India, where the company launched service in 10 cities throughout the past year, Worldspace added more than 74,500 subscribers in the country during the first quarter of 2006, bringing its total number of subscribers to nearly 112,000 at the end of March.

The subscriber additions and marketing push led to higher operating expenses, which led to a net loss of $29.2 million in the 2006 first quarter, up from a loss of $9.2 million in the same period in 2005.

Separately, Worldspace announced that Worldspace Italia SpA received approval from the Italian Ministry of Communications to launch service in Italy. Worldspace expects to begin broadcasting in the country in 2007 using existing satellites and a terrestrial gapfiller network to be rolled out in major cities. Development of the terrestrial network will begin when the Ministry of Communications approves the installation plan, Worldspace said.

“Italy is an attractive market for us,” Noah Samara, Worldspace’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our research shows it to be one of the two top markets for satellite radio in Europe.” Italy’s population is more than 58 million, nearly two-thirds of whom are within the target age demographic for satellite radio service, Worldspace said.