MTS Crosses The 5 lakh Customer Milestone in Bihar & Jharkhand

MTS Crosses The 5 lakh Customer Milestone in Bihar & Jharkhand

Submitted by news on December 30, 2010 - 15:23

Adds over 4.9 lakh voice and over 15,000 data customers in just 16 months~

• Company on track with its investment plans of USD 180 million, earmarked to develop telecom infrastructure and services in Bihar and Jharkhand.
• MTS credited for establishing a network of 25000 retailers across 282 towns & over 25000 in the twin states.
• Company has also drawn plans to further expand its rural presence from 25,000 to 30,000 villages by Q1 2011. Additional plans also include expanding retail presence from 25,000 to 40,000 retail outlets by Q2 2011.
• Future plan include reaching 1 million voice and 30,000 data customer milestone by Q2 2011.
• MTS is recognized to be the First Telecom Company in India to launch High Speed Mobile Broadband Services in the state of Jharkhand with speed up to 3.1 Mbps.

October 28, 2010: MTS, the mobile telephony services brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), today announced it’s achievement of crossing the 5 lakh customer milestone in Bihar & Jharkhand. MTS has added over 4.9 lakh voice and over 15,000 data customers in just 16 months. The company is on track with its investment plans of USD 180 million, earmarked to develop telecom infrastructure and services in Bihar and Jharkhand. Additionally MTS is also credited for establishing a network of 25000 retailers across 282 towns in the 2 states.
Speaking on the achievement, M K Sachdeva, Chief Operating Officer, Bihar and Jharkhand Telecom circle, said, “We at MTS are extremely proud to have crossed the 5 lakh customer milestone in Bihar & Jharkhand. What is significant is that this milestone has been achieved in just 16 months, thanks to the acceptance of our voice and data service. Our future plan includes crossing the 1 million voice and 30,000 data customers by Q2 2011. Additionally we also are planning to expand the retail presence of MTS from 25,000 to 40,000 outlets by Q2 2011.”
In addition to expansion of it’s retail footprint, MTS has also drawn plans to further expand its rural presence from 25,000 to 30,000 villages by Q1 2011. The company since its launch in July 2009 has maintained a growth rate of 10 percent in Bihar & Jharkhand as compared to just 3 percent growth in the overall CDMA market.
Incidentally, MTS is also recognised as the first telecom company to launch its High Speed Mobile broadband services in the state of Jharkhand with speed up to 3.1 Mbps.

CEO Vsevolod Rozanov sends greetings to AMSOST

Dear Alok and all respected AMSOST members,

 

Thank you very much for your warm wishes, let me reciprocate them to you as well! Let the 2011 bring you and your families peace, joy and happiness. I share your view on 2011 and reassure you management will triple it’s focus on key business drivers i.e. data and smartphones. You will see more HSD cities, more circles and more revenue next year.

 

All the very best,

 

VR

Mobile operators pay penalty for failing to meet roll out obligations

Special Correspondent

Mobile operators who recently received notices from the Department of Telecommunications for failing to meet their roll-out obligations have started paying penalty to the government. Government sources said Etisalat DB (earlier known as Swan Telecom), Uninor and MTS have already deposited their penalty, while remaining operators are likely to follow suit.

“Etisalat DB Telecom has received a communication from Department of Telecommunications for imposition of liquidated damages towards roll-out obligation for the first year in respect of four telecom circles, aggregating Rs.9.90 crore…Etisalat DB has made payments for Rs.9.90 crore under protest,” the company said in a statement.

Similarly, Uninor, the joint venture between Norway's Telenor and Unitech, said it had deposited the penalty as claimed by the DoT “under protest”. “Various factors, including delay in clearances required for each site, new last minute pre-launch testing requirements and new equipment security clearance processes, came in the way of roll out and were beyond our control. We have requested the DoT to consider these in its assessment.

“As a serious long-term operator with considerable presence in India, we intend to continue delivering the benefits of competition to customers in the country,” it said.

Significantly, following Comptroller and Auditor General of India audit report on 2G spectrum allocation, which pointed towards non-fulfilment of roll out obligations by new telecom players, TRAI last month had asked DoT to cancel 69 of the 127 licences given to six companies — Etisalat DB, Uninor, Videocon (earlier Datacom), Loop Telecom, S Tel (a joint venture between Siva Group and Bahrain Telecommunications Company) and Aircel — as they failed to meet licence conditions regarding commencement of their services. Subsequently, DoT had issued notices to these telecom operators asking them to pay the penalty.

Keywords: telecom service provider, 2G spectrum

MTS INDIA launches UP East and UP West circles.

Sistema Shyam Tele Services Limited (SSTL) announced the expansion of its national footprint. The company has launched its mobile telephony services under the MTS brand in UP East and UP West Circles. This is all set to further add to the company’s customer base, which now stands at over 8 million voice and over 400,000 mobile broadband customers. The Russian Government recently picked up approximately 17% stake in SSTL for US$ 600mn.

Announcing the launch of MTS in UP East and UP West Circles, Sergey Savchenko, Chief Financial Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) said, “The launch of telephony services by MTS in UP East and UP West has further expanded our national footprint. MTS would now be able to address the telecom needs of over 80% of India’s population and about 92% of the data market potential in the country. This truly represents a very exciting opportunity for MTS.”

SSTL has already invested over US$2.2 bn in India. An investment of about Rs. 1.5bn has been earmarked for UP East and UP West circles. According to Arvind Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, UP East and UP West Circles, “The launch of MTS services will provide mobile customers in UP East and UP West Circles access to our nationally successful ½ paisa per second tariff plan or 1 paisa per second + 25% extra value on core Talk time with every recharge. This is bound to result in huge savings for the customers. Additionally, our customers would get to experience world class telecom services backed by seamless connectivity on a congestion free network.

BREAKING NEWS ... THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT COMPLETES THE PAYMENT FOR SHARES OF SISTEMA SHYAM TELESERVICES Ltd.

THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT COMPLETES THE PAYMENT FOR SHARES OF SISTEMA SHYAM TELESERVICES Ltd.

Moscow, Russia – December 21, 2010 – Sistema (LSE: SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in, and is a major shareholder of, companies operating in different industries, today announced that, as a part of previously announced transaction the Russian government completed the payment for shares of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), Sistema’s subsidiary in India, which provides telecommunications services under the MTS brand.

Rosimushchestvo paid the rupee equivalent of US$ 600 million for a stake of approximately 17% in SSTL’s share capital. Following the additional share issue, the total stake in the share capital of SSTL owned by Russian parties (Sistema and Rosimushchestvo) will not exceed 74%.

SSTL expects to issue the shares to Rosimushchestvo during the first quarter of 2011, subject to the successful completion of a rights issue to SSTL’s Indian shareholders and compliance with all applicable Indian regulatory requirements. Upon final completion Sistema will announce all the relevant details about this transaction.

SSTL plans to use the funds to finance the continued development of the company, and in particular to strengthen its leading position in wireless broadband under EV-DO Rev. A.  The funds will also be used to expand the branded retail network in its current telecommunication circles and to accelerate the launch of operations in a number of new circles.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (previously Shyam Telelink Ltd.), established in 1998, launched its full operations in the State of Rajasthan in 2000. The company received the pan-Indian licence for mobile network operations in March 2008, and presently owns right to use frequencies for provision of mobile telephony services in 22 circles  across the country. The company provides telecommunication services to more than 8 million subscribers in 13 circles: Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (and Chennai), Kerala, Kolkata, West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar (and Jharkhand), Delhi, Karnataka, Mumbai, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The company provides mobile broadband services under MBlaze brand to more than 400,000 people in 84 cities in India. Sistema owns 73.71% of Shyam TeleServices Ltd. For further information please visit www.mtsindia.in.

Sistema Shyam to receive $200 mn loan for expansion plans

Published on Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 08:36   |  Updated at Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 08:50  |  Source :

CDMA mobile firm Sistema Shyam will receive a loan of USD 200 million or approximately Rs 900 crore, from Russia-based Gazprom Bank. The funds will be used for expanding its network in India. SSTL is a joint venture between India’s Shyam group and Russian conglomerate Sistema.
The CEO of SSTL, Vsevolod Rozanov, in an interview with CNBC-TV18 said, "At this stage, we are providing the widest mobile broadband network in the country with approximately 100 cities being covered by mobile broadband across various circles. We plan on increasing the number of cities covered, both in terms of news states coming into the picture and increasing the depth of the coverage in each particular state."

Excerpts from India Business Hour on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show »

Sistema Shyam may pay DoT for missing rollout obligations

By Tejeesh NS Behl Dec 20 2010

Tags: Company, Telecommunication

 

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which operates the MTS brand of mobile telephony, is likely to pay the

liquidity damages impo­sed on it by the department of telecommunications (Do­T) for not meeting rollout obligations within the stipulated time frame, a company official with direct knowledge of the development told Financial Chronicle on condition of anonymity.

“The total amount of liquidity damages for all the concerned circles works out to Rs 11 crore and it is possible we might just decide to pay up and get on with our rollout,” said the official.

He said it was also likely that other telecom companies who had been asked to pay liquidity damages for not meeting rollout obligations would follow suit.

According to telecom minister Kapil Sibal, there were 119 cases of violations of rollout obligations. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in a letter to DoT, had named nine companies, including SSTL, that did not meet rollout obligations and had recommended punitive action against each depending on the quantum of delay. The other companies were Uninor, Etisalat DB, Loop Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices (TTSL), Videocon, Vodafone Essar and Aircel/Dishnet.

Trai had said that SSTL had not started services in 10 circles –– Gujarat, Punjab, UP West, UP East, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Assam, the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. For such cases, which Trai has categorised as D2, meaning the telecom operator has not started services despite registering with the telecom enforcement, resource and monitoring cell, the regulator has recommended outright cancellation of licence. In addition, Trai said the telecom company had rolled out services in West Bengal in only two districts.

As per the licence agreement, a telecom operator is liable to pay a weekly penalty of Rs 5 lakh for the first 13 weeks of delay in rollout, Rs 10 lakh each for the next 13 weeks and Rs 20 lakh each up to the next 26 weeks, subject to a maximum of Rs 7 crore per week. The DoT had said that they could also consider cancelling a licence in certain cases where rollout obligations were not met.

Vsevolod Rozanov, president and CEO of SSTL, confirmed that DoT had asked the company to pay liquidity damages. “Yes, we have received a notice from the DoT last week and we will respond to it,” he said. He, however, declined to clarify whether the company had delayed rollout in certain circles and whether it would pay the liquidity damages. “Let me keep it between us and the regulator,” he said.

Each company has been given 15 days to pay liquidity damages, failing which licences could be cancelled and the companies would have to shell out fines with interest.

MTS India Aims for 2011 IPO

December 17, 2010 |

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), which operates under the brand MTS India, is shaping up for an IPO in 2011, according to a senior executive at the mobile operator. (See MTS India Puts Its Faith in Data.)
"We haven't decided a time line for this, but we'll be coming out with an IPO in 2011," says Rajeev Batra, chief information officer at MTS India, though he is unable to provide any further details.
That the operator is looking to list its stock on the public markets isn't wholly unexpected, as the company -- currently majority owned (73.7 percent) by Russia's Sistema JSFC (London: SSA), with India's Shyam Group (23.8 percent) and a number of smaller investors (2.5 percent) holding the balance -- had previously hinted at a potential listing during 2010.
But MTS India delayed as telecom stocks had a bumpy ride on the Indian exchanges this year while operator margins were squeezed, billions were spent on new spectrum, and several security issues injected uncertainty into the country's communications services.
Instead, the company, which has activated more than 7.5 million connections in the 13 circles (service areas) in which it is currently operational, adopted an alternative funding strategy. In August this year it secured a 13 billion Indian rupees (US$286 million) loan from the State Bank of India to finance the company’s expansion plans and introduce new products and data services on its CDMA network. (MTS India didn't participate in the 3G spectrum auction.) (See Data Is India's Next Tariff Battlefield and MTS India Signs Up for Advanced CDMA.)

That, though, clearly hasn't put the company's IPO plans on ice, as MTS India's management appears bullish about joining the public markets in the next calendar year.

Sistema Shyam Expects Russia Investment Next Quarter : Wall Street Journal

Sistema Shyam Expects Russia Investment Next Quarter

By MUKESH JAGOTA and ROMIT GUHA

NEW DELHI -- Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd. said Monday it expects the Russian government's investment of around $600 million to come through in the January-March quarter, giving the mobile operator much-needed funds to expand its operations in India.
"All in-principle clearances have come [from the Russian and Indian governments]. Now only technicalities remain," Chief Executive Vsevolod Rozanov told reporters.
Sistema Shyam is 73.71% owned by Russia's Sistema JSFC, with India's Shyam Group holding about 23.79%. The Russian government planned to pick up the stake in the company by the end of 2009, but the plan was delayed as the country's economy ministry didn't approve the investment that had been included in Russia's 2009 budget.
Last December, Sistema Shyam had said it will issue 662.75 million shares, or a 19.8% stake, on a preferred basis to the Russian Federal Property Agency at 49.31 rupees and up to 228.55 million shares to its Indian founders at 10 rupees a share.
The deal will reduce Sistema's holding in the Indian company to about 54%. The share allotment to the Indian founders will, however, help Sistema Shyam keep the total foreign stake in it below the government-mandated limit of 74% for Indian telecom companies.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has held some deposits in rupees in India. Sistema JSFC has previously said the government is required to invest this cash in Indian projects and that the investment in Sistema Shyam would be a "financing arrangement" as it includes a pledge by Sistema to buy the shares in five years' time.
Sistema Shyam has licenses to provide services in all of India's 22 service areas but has so far started operations under the MTS brand in 13 areas. It has 8 million voice users and 400,000 broadband subscribers.
Earlier in the day, Sistema Shyam signed an agreement with Russia's Gazprombank for a $200 million loan to fund expansion. It also plans to launch an initial public offering in the second half of 2011, Mr. Rozanov said.
The company's expansion plan comes at a time when the world's fastest-growing telecom market has been plunged into turmoil following allegations of corruption.
The country's top investigative agency is scrutinizing the 2008 sale of licenses and bandwidth that critics alleged favored some companies. The telecom department is sending notices to some companies which received licenses in 2008, asking why their licenses shouldn't be cancelled. It is also sending notices to some companies which haven't met stipulated schedules of service roll outs.
A person familiar with the matter said Monday that Sistema Shyam has received a notice from the telecom department, claiming 110 million rupees ($2.43 million) as "liquidated damages" for the delay in roll out of services in 10 areas.
Chief Executive Rozanov said the company will reply to the notice within the stipulated time of 15 days. "This doesn't affect Sistema's plans in India...and at this stage, we continue to roll out our network," he said.

Sistema says India investment plans on track : Reuters

Sistema says India investment plans on track

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Russian oil-to-telecoms group Sistema's (SSAq.L) Indian unit on Monday said an inquiry by the Indian government about its telecom licence in a case running parallel to one of the biggest corruption scams to hit India will not affect its investment plans in the country.
The Indian unit's Chief Executive Vsevolod Rozanov said the firm would reply to India's letter on not meeting network rollout obligations, and added that Russian government's planned investment of about $600 million in the company was expected to close in the first quarter of next year.
"All the principal clearances are received both from the Indian side and the Russian side. Now what is remaining is basically technicalities," Rozanov said of the Russian investment.
The Russian government will get a 20 percent stake in Sistema Shyam, which holds telecoms licences for all of India and currently operates in 13 of India's 22 telecoms zones.
India's telecoms ministry last week sent out notices to firms named by a government auditor as being ineligible for licences they were given in 2008, asking them to defend the permits.
The inquiry is part of a scandal that alleges the country's former telecom minister gave out licences too cheaply and to some companies that were ineligible, possibly costing the state $39 billion in revenue.
Separately, the ministry also sent out letters last week to firms that have not fulfilled network rollout obligations asking them to reply within 15 days or pay "liquidated damages."
Some of these licences could be cancelled, government officials have said.
Sistema's Indian mobile joint venture, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, has received a letter for not meeting rollout requirements, Rozanov said, but added the letter was for "liquidated damages" and not for cancellation of licences.
"This doesn't affect Sistema's plans in India because we haven't received any show cause notice and at this stage continue to rollout our network," he said, referring to notices which have been issued to companies asking them to defend their licences.
Rozanov said Sistema Shyam would reply to the government letter on not meeting rollout requirements "within the prescribed timeline."
India's telecoms regulator had earlier recommended cancelling some telecom licences, including 10 held by Sistema Shyam, for failing to meet rollout requirements. The regulator also wants another licence of Sistema Shyam cancelled after legal examination.
Sistema owns a 73.7 percent stake in Sistema Shyam, while India's Shyam group owns 23.8 percent. The issue of shares to the Russian government would dilute Sistema's holding to 54 percent.
Sistema Shyam has also said it is also looking to list the company in India.
"We expect that next year we should be ready for listing, Then the board will make a decision depending on the right market condition," Rozanov said.
Sistema Shyam earlier on Monday signed a mandate letter with Russian lender Gazprombank for a loan of $200 million. The rupee-denominated loan would be used on network building and on operational expenses, Rozanov said. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, Writing by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Rosemary Arackaparambil and Jui Chakravorty)

Sistema Shyam Q3 net jumps seven-fold at $507 mn

NEW DELHI: Sistema Shyam TeleServices, a joint venture between Sistema of Russia and Shyam Group of India , today reported over seven-fold jump in its net income to $ 507 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, over the same period last year.

The company had a net income of $ 68.84 million in the June-September quarter 2009, Sistema Shyam TeleServices which owns CDMA mobile telephony brand MTS said in a statement issued here.

During the period, the Income of the company from continuing operations before income tax, equity in net income of energy companies in the Republic of Bashkortostan stood at $ 693.35 million.

"In our Telecoms business unit, the third quarter was characterised by our continued efforts to consolidate our telecoms assets and create an integrated market leader.

Notably, the recovery we witnessed in the second quarter in our Consumer businesses was sustained in the third quarter, which showed double digit revenue growth and a turnaround in net profitability," Sistema President and CEO Leonid Melamed said.

Total revenues stood at $ 7.3 billion during the quarter under review, against $ 5.33 billion in the same year-ago period.

The Group's cash balances stood at $ 4,009.5 million as of September 30, 2010, compared to $ 2,395.3 million in the same period last year.

The Group's net debt (short-term and long-term debt 14 less cash and cash equivalents) amounted to $ 10,459.8 million as of September 30, 2010, compared to $ 11,633.5 million as of June 30, 2010.

SSTL launched its mobile data services in 22 new cities with total number of cities covered by high speed data services increasing to 96 out of 100 biggest cities in India, including all five Metro areas, at the end of the third quarter. The number of mobile broadband subscribers more than doubled quarter-on-quarter to 260 thousand subscribers as of September 30, 2010.

In September 2010, the Government of the Russian Federation approved an equity investment in SSTL. It is expected that the Russian Government will participate in an issuance of additional 6 shares of SSTL, paying an equivalent of $ 600 million in the form of Indian rupees held in accounts representing Indian governmental debt to the Russian Federation.

LTE coming in 2011

With newer , faster technologies around the bend,  MTS india will need to get its technology and business strategy right and create a niche segment to avoid getting crowded out- Editor

 Analyst: LTE TDD Will Reach India in 2011

December 5, 2010 | Gagandeep Kaur | Post a comment

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Following swiftly on the heels of the widespread launch of 3G services, India is set to witness the launch of its first Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD) network in the second half of 2011, according to an experienced industry analyst. (See Bharti Gets a Makeover Before 3G Launch and India's Tata Ready for 3G Launch.)
Two developments in the Indian telecom industry this week have added momentum to the country's LTE TDD sector. The first, and more important of the two, was the confirmation by BWA (broadband wireless access) license-holder Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) that it intends to build out a network based on LTE TDD technology. Reliance Industries is the only company to hold a pan-Indian BWA spectrum. (See Reliance Gives Impetus to LTE TDD in India and Reliance Shows Off LTE TDD Ecosystem.)
The second development was the demonstration of LTE TDD capabilities in India by industry giants Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) and Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC). (See Ericsson, Qualcomm Demo LTE TDD in India.)
But it's going to be a few months yet before the LTE TDD ecosystem -- networks, devices, supporting Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) systems -- will be ready. "Globally, LTE is gaining momentum, but LTE TDD is still more than a year behind WiMax and LTE FDD, and this going to have a big impact on the decision of the Indian operators. I still think Indian operators will have a hard time launching a commercial BWA service using LTE TDD until the second half of 2011. This may just mean they will delay until then," says Berge Ayvazian, senior consultant at Heavy Reading.
His view is corroborated by Qualcomm, which successfully bid for BWA spectrum in the auction earlier this year. The company had paid more than US$1 billion for BWA spectrum in four circles (service areas): Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. (See Qualcomm Wins India Spectrum, India's BWA Auction Ends in $8.2B Drama, and BWA Auction Is Bad News for WiMax's Future .)
"The Indian operators will finish the 3G launch by March next year and we would be demonstrating interoperability with 3G in the second quarter of the coming year. Ecosystem will be ready then. We expect one or two operators to launch in the second half of the coming year but the actual launch may be dependent on the operators," the president of Qualcomm India and South Asia, Kanwalinder Singh, told Light Reading Asia. (See Reliance Sets Out Its 3G Stall and India's 3G Auction Ends, Raises $14.6B)
Not surprisingly, the WiMAX Forum has a different take on current developments. "LTE TDD is unlikely to take off in India as the technology is not ready for commercial rollout," says CS Rao, chairman of the Forum in India.
Qualcomm's quest
Meanwhile, Qualcomm continues to seek operators that can take on its spectrum and build out LTE TDD networks, a move that was always part of its medium-term strategy.
The company has already offloaded a 26 per cent stake to Tulip Telecom Ltd. and GTL Ltd. for about $58 million, and recent media reports put Qualcomm in talks with Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mumbai: BHARTIARTL) (See Qualcomm Names India LTE Investors , Qualcomm Updates on India Exit Plan, and Will Qualcomm Sell Its BWA Spectrum in India? .)
According to the reports, Aircel has shown interest in the Mumbai and Kerala circles, while Bharti is interested in the Delhi and Haryana circles. Qualcomm's spectrum can be sold together as a single block or be split into two blocks -- one grouping Mumbai and Kerala, and the other Delhi and Haryana.
"We are not in any hurry to offload the spectrum which we have won. We are talking to all operators, both 3G and 2G, and there is a certain set of base terms we are discussing with the operators. However, we're certain that we do not want to compete with the operators," says Qualcomm's Singh.
Though the Indian market is moving towards LTE TDD, it is not the end of the road for WiMax. "The decision to deploy LTE [in place of] WiMax may still vary by circle and operator," believes Ayvazian at Heavy Reading. "For example, Reliance may select a few rural circles for WiMax deployments to deliver low-cost broadband, taking advantage of the current cost and maturity advantages of the WiMax base stations and devices. But in major cities [the operators] will deploy LTE TDD, even if it delays service rollouts," he adds. (See All WiMax Eggs in Reliance Basket, India's Still Hot for WiMax, Says Forum , BWA Auction Is Bad News for WiMax's Future and WiMax, 3G to Dominate India's Broadband Future)

MTS enters Gujrat

MTS eyes 30% CDMA market share in Gujarat

BS Reporter / Mumbai/ Ahmedabad December 03, 2010, 0:28 IST

Having rolled out its prepaid CDMA mobile telephony services, MTS, in Gujarat, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) is now eyeing to grab a market share of 30 per cent in the state. Entering its 13th circle in the country, SSTL intends to build an MTS subscriber base of two lakhs for voice users and 6,000 data users by end of 2011.
"“The launch of MTS services in Gujarat will provide mobile customers the access to our nationally successful half paisa per second tariff plan. In-addition to an unmatched tariff, our focus is also to provide a world class customer care service and add more value-for-money for customer through innovative products like Recharge Booster, where we give 25 per cent extra talk time with every subsequent recharge for a year. By 2011 end, we have a target of two lakh voice users and 6,000 data users. We are expecting a CDMA market share of 30 per cent in Gujarat," said Navid Rashid, Chief Operating Officer, Gujarat.

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SSTL's launch plan, spread across 245 towns and 5,000 villages, includes an investment of Rs 100 crore in Gujarat. These funds will be utilised in building the service network for MTS customers across the circle. Over the next ­3 months, MTS customers would also be serviced by a network of over 150 dealers and 31000 retail outlets across the state. Going forward, MTS also plans to launch its high speed mobile broadband service in Gujarat under its flagship data brand 'MBlaze' by first quarter of 2011. Additionally, MTS plans to launch its post paid mobile services in the state by Q1 2011. "Mobile customers in Gujarat will now get to experience the services of a global brand like MTS, which stands for world class telecom services backed by seamless connectivity on a congestion free network," said Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL).
Going forward, MTS also intends to establish a strong data services business in Gujarat. "In voice and data, we are looking at 80:20 ratio in urban areas, and 90:10 in rural areas in Gujarat. We want to be known strongly as a data brand as well," Rashid added.
In a short span of time, MTS has secured over 7.5 million subscribers. The company is present in 12 other circles including Kolkata, West Bengal & Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chennai & Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar & Jharkhand, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Delhi & NCR, Haryana, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. MBlaze, the data service of MTS, offered in 84 towns of India, has over 3.5 lakh mobile broadband customers so far since its launch in November 2009.