TATA DOCOMO will launch GSM services by month-end

[Aadarsh]

NTT DoCoMo Japan’s largest mobile-phone operator, and Tata Teleservices Ltd. will invest $2 billion in their mobile-phone service venture in India.

Tata DoCoMo, as the new service based on the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, standard will be branded, plans to offer wireless phones across the nation starting in south India later this month, the companies said in New Delhi on Wednesday. Tata Teleservices currently uses the rival code division multiple access, or CDMA, standard.

The CDMA operator said it plans to launch commercial services on the GSM platform in a phased manner, starting with South India, followed by western and northern regions. “We expect to complete our pan-India rollout by the end of this year,” Tata Teleservices’ president for GSM operations Deepak Gulati said. Currently, TTSL is India’s sixth-largest mobile operator with 35.7 million subscribers as of end-April on the CDMA platform. Close to 70% of the country’s 403-million mobile subscribers use the GSM platform.

Also at the event, Tata DOCOMO unveiled a strikingly different logo and said that it will invest $2 billion in the national roll out.

Mr Kunieda also said that DoCoMo had no plans to raise its stake in TTSL beyond the 26% it currently holds.
Asked if the Tatas planned to list TTSL, its managing director Anil Sardana said this would depend entirely on its shareholders. “In due course, every Tata company has followed that route and we will also follow it,” he said, declining to share any timeline for the plans. On the possibility of the company participating in the 3G auction, Mr Sardana said it would depend on how the auction shapes up, availability of spectrum and the reserve price.

[Narendar]

TTSL is India’s sixth-largest mobile operator with 35.7 million subscribers as of end-April on the CDMA platform. Close to 70% of the country’s 403-million mobile subscribers use the GSM platform.

[ankur lohani]

i guess soon it'll be one of the largest if not the largest...especially now tht they've allied with NTT docomo, which is the largest telecom firm in japan...what i liked most was that they are targetting the youth..thru their website, branding, plans, etc...i got this impression by looking at their website http://tatadocomo.com/default.aspx their logo reminds me of pacman!! lol

[Gauresh]

Ya there logo looks like pacman. TATA will rocks in GSM service also because people trust on TATA . Their tariff plan also good compare to other GSM operators.

[ankur lohani]

their videos are also very well made...animation is too good...ringtone also not bad...