TATA DOCOMO crosses 5-lakh subscribers' mark in Tamil Nadu

Combination of cutting-edge service and new per-second pricing paradigm sees service become a huge hit in first month itself

TATA DOCOMO, the GSM mobile phone service of Tata Teleservices Limited in partnership with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, today announced a significant milestone by crossing the 5-lakh-suscribers’ mark in Tamil Nadu, barely a month after the launch of its service in the Circle. The company thus created a record of sorts by crossing this significant landmark in such a short period of time.

“Our simple yet extremely powerful offer of a dependable and cutting-edge service, coupled with the unique concept of per-second pricing has seen the people of Tamil Nadu shower so much love and affection on us,” Mr Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, said. “We had made a promise that we would bring to the country products and services that would redefine the telecom experience. In just a short month, the people of Tamil Nadu Circle have vindicated our stand. Our partnership with NTT DOCOMO will continue to help us provide subscribers with tremendous technological and service differentiation,” he added.

NTT DOCOMO is acknowledged as the global leader in 3G technology and respected worldwide for its futuristic product innovations.

Announcing this heady achievement, Mr Yatish Mehrotra, TATA DOCOMO’s Hub-head for South India, said: “In a market that is cluttered with many operators and throws up confusing options, we are offering simplicity to consumers by being the country’s most transparent, innovative and liberating telecom brand. The first move on this front was to cut through the clutter and redefine the entire pricing paradigm—from Day One of our launch, we have worked on a per-second pricing model for almost everything, be it voice calls, VAS services, IVR interactions... Our subscribers see that as true value and dependability, and that is what has seen us see this initial success. Going forward, we will continue to innovate and better the service experience through fantastic VAS offerings and unique technology innovations.”

“We are focusing strongly on network superiority, coverage and service offerings. Our presence in 775 towns and 4,370 villages clearly makes our network footprint the largest among all telecom operators in Tamil Nadu, at the time of launch,” Mr Naga Velamuri, Chief Operating Officer of TATA DOCOMO in Tamil Nadu, said. “TATA DOCOMO will soon unveil a portfolio of Value-Added Services that will reinvent mobile telephony in India, with products and services like Free Voicemail, Timed SMS Service, Free Missed Call Alerts, Call-me Tunes, etc—all of them customized to liberate and refresh our subscribers,” he added.

The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.

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 NTT DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks for 3G technology, as also products and services such as i-mode and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most global telecom players are only beginning to talk of 4G technology and its possible applications, NTT DOCOMO has already recorded a downlink transmission rate of 250 Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental system for Super 3G, also known as LTE, and is targeting to complete the commercial development by the end of 2009. This will hold TATA DOCOMO in good stead as it launches GSM services.

About TATA DOCOMO
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 Limited has received a license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 telecom Circles and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 of these Circles. It has rolled out its GSM services in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Other telecom Circles across the country will also ‘go live’ over the next few months. TATA DOCOMO marks a significant milestone in the Indian telecom landscape, as it stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world’s leading mobile operators—in the Japanese market, the company is the clear market leader, used by over 50 per cent of the country’s mobile phone users. 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.