Tata Teleservices to expand TN operations investing Rs375 crore

Chennai: With the demand for mobile phones growing rapidly, Tata Teleservices Limited has decided to focus on the mobile user segment in Tamil Nadu. It has drawn up an investment programme of Rs375 crore to expand the infrastructure this fiscal.

Speaking on the expansion plans, chief operating officer M A Madhusudan said, "We will be installing 260 cell sites thereby taking the total to 760 in the state. This would enable us to expand in to 300 towns from 80 towns at present."

On the marketing side the company will establish 200 retail outlets and spend around Rs12 crore on promoting the brand. In addition Tata Teleservices has tied up with handset manufacturers to introduce low cost CDMA phones. According to Madhusudan, the company will also set up one more call centre in Chennai to take the additional load of customer queries.

Madhusudan says the company hopes to increase its subscriber base to 1 million by March 2006. "Of this, 60 per cent will be mobile subscribers and the balance fixed wireless."

Tata Teleservices currently has a subscriber base of four lakh (one lakh mobile and three lakh fixed wireless). While agreeing that its subscriber base was low compared to others he, however added, "Our revenue is far higher than others'. The company earns around Rs22 crore per month."