S Tel to share RCom infrastructure in ix circles

S Tel, a Chennai-based company holding start-up spectrum in six states, has entered into an infrastructure sharing agreement with Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company Reliance Communications Ltd.

S Tel, a new entrant in the telecom space, signed a deal with Reliance Communications, whereby its subsidiary Reliance Infratel will give S Tel access to RCom's network coverage of over 10,000 sites across six circles and optic cable fibre backbone, an RCom press release said.

"We are pleased to partner S Tel through this win-win landmark agreement. This agreement reiterates Reliance Communications' capabilities to enable the operators to go to market with a bouquet of telecom infrastructure services. This will ensure a faster rollout, optimum cost and time to market advantage," Inder Bajaj, president, Reliance Infratel, said.

S Tel has received licence to roll out service across six circles of Orissa, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, North East, Assam and J&K. It plans to roll out its mobile telephony services before the end of this year.

The end-to-end telecom sharing agreement includes telecom towers, transmission for BTS sites and fibre backbone for intercity connectivity, an R Com release said.

S Tel Limited provides telecommunications services to individuals and businesses - mobile and internet access services and calling cards to individuals; and mobile, international calling, broadband internet and data and voice services to businesses.

The company was incorporated in 2007 in Chennai and as of 20 June, S Tel operates as a subsidiary of Sterling Infotech Group.