TATA DOCOMO partnership

 TATA DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limited's telecom service on the GSM platform - arising out of the Tata Group's strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. TATA DOCOMO has received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services - and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles and will roll out its services shortly, starting with South India.

TATA DOCOMO marks a significant milestone in the Indian telecom landscape, as it stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world's leading mobile operators - in the Japanese market, the company is the clear market leader, used by over 50 per cent of the country's mobile phone users.

NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks like 3G technology, as also products and services like the i-modeTM, mobile payment and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most of the rest of the industry is only beginning to talk of LTE technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO has already started conducting LTE trials in physical geographies, not just inside laboratories!

DOCOMO is also a global leader in the VAS (Value-Added Services) space, both in terms of services and handset designs, particularly integrating services at the platform stage. The Tata Group-NTT DOCOMO partnership will see offerings such as these being introduced in the Indian market through the TATA DOCOMO brand.

TATA DOCOMO has also set up a ‘Business and Technology Cooperation Committee, comprising of senior personnel from both companies. The committee is responsible for the identification of key areas where the two companies will work together. DOCOMO, the world's leading mobile operator, will work closely with the Tata Teleservices Limited management and provide know-how to help the company develop its GSM business.

On the CDMA platform, despite being a late entrant, Tata Indicom has already established its presence and is the fastest-growing pan-India operator. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. Today, Tata Teleservices Ltd, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves over 37 million customers in more than 320,000 towns and villages across the country, with a bouquet of telephony services encompassing Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wire line Services.