Datacom Solutions (Datacom), the telecom services arm of the Videocon Group, has inked a ten-year infrastructure sharing agreement with mobile operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL), the Economic Times reports. Under the deal it is understood that Datacom will lease both bandwidth and towers across the country from TTSL; Wireless-TT Infoservices (WTTIL), a joint tower venture between TTSL and Quippo Telecom, is expected to provide passive infrastructure, while TTSL itself will provide transmission services. It is thought that, with both Datacom and TTSL in the process of rolling out GSM networks, the two operators believe this agreement will enable them to reduce operating costs.
Datacom’s parent company Videocon has licences to operate in 14 telecom circles and has said it plans to invest approximately INR10 billion (USD205.35 million) on infrastructure in this fiscal year. Datacom is expected to launch commercial services by the end of 2009 in Chennai and Tamil Nadu, having announced in February 2009 that it had signed a deal with Chinese vendor Huawei for the rollout of its network in nine circles. Videocon holds a 74% stake in Datacom, while Reliance Industries director Manoj Modi has a 15% holding; the remainder is held by HFCL chairman Mahendra Nahata.