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 Teleservices has received a license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 of India's 22 telecom Circles-and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom circles. Of these, it has already rolled out services in all the 18 Circles that it received spectrum in from the Government of India-Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Haryana-Punjab, Kolkata, Rest of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP (East), UP (West), Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Tata DOCOMO has also become the first Indian private operator to launch 3G services in India, with its recent launch in all the nine telecom Circles where it bagged the 3G license. In association with its partner NTT DOCOMO, the Company finds itself suitably positioned to leverage this first-mover advantage. With 3G, Tata DOCOMO stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world's leading mobile operators-in Japan, the company is the clear market leader, used by nearly 55 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 i-Mode, e-wallet and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Last year itself, while most of the rest of the industry was only beginning to talk of 4G technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO had already concluded conducting 4G trials in physical geographies, not just inside laboratories!
DOCOMO is a global leader in the VAS 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 Coordination Council', comprising of senior personnel from both companies. The council 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 the latest 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 84 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and villages across the country, with a bouquet of telephony services encompassing Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline Services.