Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) on Wednesday announced that its global systems for mobile communication or GSM service would be branded as Tata Docomo.
Japan’s NTT Docomo had recently picked up a 26% stake in Tata Teleservices.
International branding seems to be in vogue in the country with even other telcos taking the route.
For example, a new player Swan Telecom, which is a joint venture between Etisalat and DB Realty, has been renamed Etisalat DB Telecom India. Although the brand name for its service in India has not been finalised, sources said it is likely to be called Etisalat.
Another international brand Vodafone, is already a dominant player in the country.
Meanwhile, Russian telco Sistema, with its Indian partner Shyam, has already introduced its international brand, MTS.
When asked whether NTT Docomo wanted to increase its holding in the Tata Tele, the company’s senior vice-president and managing director of the global business division Toshinari Kunieda said, “Currently, there are no such plans.”
According to managing director Anil Sardana, the newly-branded GSM service of Tata Teleservices would be launched in some of the southern states by the end of this month. The company’s pan-India GSM rollout is expected by the end of this year. Tata Tele has already obtained spectrum for 18 out of total 22 circles in the country.
Hitherto, Tata Teleservices offered only CDMA or code division multiple access mobile service.
For the pan-India GSM network rollout, Tata Tele and NTT Docomo have announced an investment of $2 billion. Sardana said the capex plan for the company’s GSM service has been increased from $1.5 billion earlier to $2 billion.
Tata Teleservices is keen to make the best use of NTT’s experience in the 3G (third generation) mobile telephony space. NTT is believed to be a global leader in 3G. In India, 3G auctions are expected to be announced soon.
Like CDMA, Tata Teleservices also plans to sell bundled handsets for its GSM services. The company is exploring various tie ups with handset manufacturers.
As for listing of the company, Sardana said it was up to the shareholders to take a call on that. He, however, added, “In due course, every Tata company has followed that route. But, there’s no fixed time in the horizon right now.”
NTT Docomo is listed on the Tokyo, London and New York stock exchanges.
Tata Teleservices and NTT Docomo are closely engaged in integrating technology, value-added services, products and applications through the mechanism of Business and Technology Cooperation Committee.
While TTSL along with Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd, serves around 36 million customers, NTT Docomo offers its services to 54 million subscribers.
