Ericsson's Telcordia seeks govt nod for full control of India unit

Telcordia has 74% stake in the company and Deepak Talwar Consultants 26%

US-based Telcordia Technologies, now part of Ericsson, has sought approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase stake in its Indian entity to 100 per cent from 74 per cent, according to sources.

Telcordia had entered India in March 2009 through a joint venture, MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions, to work as one of the two clearing houses for managing mobile number portability (MNP). Telcordia has 74 per cent stake in the company and Deepak Talwar Consultants 26 per cent. Telcordia declined to comment on queries.

Telcordia’s MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions and Syniverse Technologies India are the two companies that have the government’s approval to manage MNP implementation in India. However, MNP has not picked up; it is restricted to a telecom circle. According to data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), 123.9 million subscribers had made requests for MNP till June, from the time the government permitted porting of mobile numbers in November 2010.

The telecom department had “broadly agreed” in June with the proposal for a nationwide MNP. It has sought clarifications from Trai on issues. Nationwide MNP will enable consumers to retain their number even if they relocate from one circle to another. It will also allow mobile users to switch service providers, irrespective of the circle, without changing their numbers. However, the implementation of nationwide MNP is unlikely to come anytime soon.

If Telcordia gets FIPB approval to raise stake to 100 per cent, it would be the second non-operator telecom firm to have full control in the Indian entity after the government decided to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector.

Last year, Singapore-based SingTel had got approval from FIPB to increase its stake in SingTel Global (India) Private Ltd, which provides international long distance  services in India, to 100 per cent from 74 per cent. The remaining stake was owned by Bharti Enterprises (9.9 per cent) and Leela Lace Software Solutions Pvt Ltd (16.01 per cent).
TAKING IT ALL

• Telcordia had entered India in March 2009 through a joint venture to work as one of the two clearing houses for managing mobile number portability
• If it gets government nod to raise stake to 100%, it would be the second non-operator telecom firm to have full control in the Indian entity after the government decided to allow 100% FDI in the sector