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AT&T applies for telco licenses in India |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
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AT&T said on Monday its Indian unit has applied for licenses to provide services in the world's fastest growing wireless market in partnership with India's Mahindra Group.
By Reuters AT&T said in a statement it had applied with Mahindra Telecommunications Private for licenses in 22 of the 23 telecommunications circles or zones that make up India's telecommunications markets. India, which currently has 12 telecommunications service providers, had set an October 1 deadline for applications for new licenses after a recent spate of applications, including from real estate firms DLF, Unitech and Parsvnath Developers. "The basic point is that AT&T wants to enter the business in India ... obviously AT&T sees a big opportunity," Ulhas Yargop, president for information technology sector at group flagship Mahindra & Mahindra, told Reuters. Yargop said AT&T would hold 74 percent in the partnership and Mahindra Telecommunications would own the rest. AT&T already holds licenses for national long distance and international calls in India in a joint-venture with Mahindra Telecommunications. India's mobile providers have been signing up more than 8 million users every month recently, and analysts have forecast subscribers will rise to 500 million in five years from 200 million now. Vodafone Group, the world's second-biggest mobile firm, earlier this year paid $11.1 billion for a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, since renamed Vodafone Essar, from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International. India's diversified Videocon Group has also applied for telecommunications licenses and aims to partner with a U.S. firm, its chairman told Reuters last week. |
