Telecoms.com

Indian carrier Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is to launch a GSM service this month under the brand of Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which holds a 26 per cent stake in  TTSL. The Tata DoCoMo-branded service will be deployed initially in Southern India and gradually expanded nationwide, the Japanese firm said in a release.

DoCoMo’s international expansion plans have not always proven successful, with the firm historically preferring to take small stakes in firms and then try to influence their strategy. It has been less prepared to take majority stakes and impose its will, as other leading carriers have chosen to do.

The difficulties faced by the firm in spreading its domestically successful i-mode service internationally typify the obstacles it has faced overseas.

With Tata, DoCoMo said it is “participating proactively in TTSL’s management by providing human resources and technical assistance to help realise improved network quality and the possible introduction of leading-edge, value-added services.”

The Indian market is growing at a fearsome rate, with monthly additions numbering more than ten million.