3G, GSM, Handsets: A Look at Tata's DoCoMo Deal
By Abhinna Shreshtha
Mumbai, Nov 21, 2008 1736 hrs IST

In one of the most significant deals the Indian telecom sector has seen recently, Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has sold 26% of its stake to Japan's biggest mobile operator - NTT DoCoMo. DoCoMo has paid $2.7 billion for the deal, which is already being criticized as over-priced. According to a NTT DoCoMo spokesperson, one of the things the strategic alliance will focus on is developing better handsets - these include phones with rich video content quality, waterproof models, etc.

But is there more to this than meets the eye? Anil Sardana, MD of Tata Teleservices was coy when asked if the company would now bid in the 3G auction. He said it was too "premature" to talk about 3G right now. However, the alliance with NTT DoCoMo will certainly put TTSL in an advantageous position when it comes to 3G, considering the expertise that DoCoMo will bring with it. In fact, TTSL has said it will work with DoCoMo to bring next-generation telecom technologies to India. Perhaps, this was a hint.

According to telecom analyst - Dipesh Mohile from Tonse Telecom, the strategic alliance between Tata Teleservices and NTT DoCoMo seems to take shape from the broader vision of growing the service portfolio by offering new value added services and gearing up for 3G.

He said, "TTSL has been a CDMA operator until recently. However, winning of GSM license pan-India will allow TTSL to become a GSM player. Partner such as NTT DoCoMo will go a long way in making Tata's foray into GSM much simpler." Sardana has already said that the $2 million investment the company had kept aside for GSM and CDMA will go ahead as planned.

NTT DoCoMo has already launched HSPA services and is accepted as a major force when it comes to 3G and GSM. "NTT has been recognized as one of the leading players in 3G and beyond technologies. So involvement of NTT in Tata operations on technical aspects will be important if Tata has aspirations of becoming a GSM player and offer data services based on 3GPP standards (UMTS/HSPA)," said Mohile.



Related links:
Tata Tele Enhances its 3G Readiness