Unitech Wireless has signed an infrastructure sharing deal with Wireless-TT Infoservices Limited (WTTIL), the tower arm of Tata Teleservices Limited, and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited (QTIL), under which Unitech Wireless will lease tower infrastructure from WTTIL and QTIL across India. This agreement will enable Unitech Wireless to roll out GSM services as planned—by the second half of 2009.
Unitech Wireless will leverage on the existing and future tower and the backbone infrastructure of WTTIL. In addition, an agreement for the provision of transmission has been entered into with Tata Teleservices Limited. These agreements are a key component of completing the Unitech Wireless transaction with Telenor, is expected to happen in Q1 of 2009.
“The deal marks an important milestone in the rollout, as it will considerably shorten the time to market for Unitech Wireless. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship with Quippo, WTTIL and TTSL,” Mr Sanjay Chandra, Chairman of Unitech Wireless, said.
TTSL recently merged its tower arm, WTTIL, with Quippo Telecom, a pure-play tower company, which will have an inventory of about 22,000 towers by April 2009. The agreement gives Unitech Wireless access to 40,000 sites as required, based on the rollout plan.
“The deal is of strategic importance and value-enhancing for all stakeholders—particularly so since WTTIL now stands for the proven expertise of infrastructure management and operational capabilities of Quippo, with the committed support of TTSL,” Mr. Anil Sardana, Managing Director of Tata Teleservices Limited, said.
“This partnership is a reaffirmation of the strategic alliance between Quippo and Tata Teleservices Limited, which we announced last month,” Mr. Arun Kapur, Managing Director of Quippo Telecom, said. “The Quippo-TTSL entity has created a lot of interest amongst various operators due to its size and scale. It presents a unique opportunity for telecom operators to focus on their core competencies without worrying about the availability of the infrastructure, capital expenditure, time-to-market, etc. This, in turn, will help mitigate their risks and enhance their profitability,” he added.
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About Unitech Wireless
Unitech Wireless has pan-India Unified Access Service licenses in all 22 telecom circles, and plans to launch its services in mid-2009. The company has established offices in five cities, recruited more than 250 employees and is close to placing orders for equipment. The Indian market presents a large attractive opportunity for telecom operators. With a population of approximately 1.2 billion and a mobile penetration of only 26% currently, there remains significant untapped potential of additional subscribers. India is already witnessing a significant increase in mobile penetration, with a net addition of approximately 8 million subscribers per month during 2008.
About Quippo
Quippo, sponsored by the Kanoria’s of SREI Infrastructure Finance, operates an Infrastructure Equipment Rental Company, servicing the high-growth verticals of construction, oil and gas, telecom and energy. Quippo Telecom’s existing investor base includes reputed investors like GIC Singapore (owned by Singapore Government), IDFC Private Equity and Oman investment Fund (OIF). OIF, an investment arm of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, has recently invested Rs 472 crore in the company for an approximate 16.6-per cent equity stake. Earlier this year, Quippo lapped up about 1,000 towers from Spice Telecommunications, primarily across the Punjab and Karnataka circles.
About Tata Teleservices Limited
Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India's leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom brand, and uses the latest technology platform(s) for its wireless network. With a customer base of nearly 33 million, Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, covers over 3,20,000 towns and villages across India’s 22 telecom circles. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, under which the Japanese company acquired a 26% stake in TTSL for USD 2.7 billion. The transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices Limited, as it moves towards a pan-India dual network presence. The company also recently announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary, Wireless TT Info-Services Limited, and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited—with the combined entity kicking off operations with 18,000 towers, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space in the country. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and wireline services.