American Tower in tie-up talks with Indian telecom firms

Mumbai: Telecom infrastructure major American Tower Corp is in talks with major Indian telecom operators for possible alliances, James Taiclet, chief executive of the company, said.

American Tower, which operates broadcast and wireless communication towers in North America and Brazil, might acquire or enter into joint venture or management partnerships with Indian firms, he said, adding, "We are going to be flexible."

"We are initiating conversations, serious ones, with the carriers in the country ... to help create a commercial collocation passive infrastructure business," Taiclet said.

American Tower, he said, has the capacity and appetite for significant investments. The company will open its regional headquarters in New Delhi and will name a regional president shortly.

"We''ve got plenty of financial capacity. We have substantial resources we can put into the country," he said at a press conference, without giving further details.

Telecoms firms in India , including Anil Ambani''s Reliance Communications, are looking to share infrastructure such as mobile towers to keep costs down and boost profits amid intense price competition and a surge in low-income subscribers.

India is a high growth market where a soaring subscriber base is driving demand for ever greater infrastructure, he said.

India is the world''s fastest-growing mobile services market, with more than 6 million subscribers signing up each month.