Saturday, May 9, 2009

Virgin Mobile looks to tie up with Tata Teleservices for GSM

Just about a year after its ingress into the CDMA (code division multiple access) mobile arena, Virgin Mobile is looking to tie up with Tata Teleservices to enter into the GSM (global system for mobile communications) network in India.

The tie up between Virgin Mobile and Tata Teleservices will give Virgin Mobile leverage of Tata Teleservices’ GSM licence for 19 circles and GSM spectrum for 13 circles. What is more, Tata is also planning to launch its GSM services in 16 circles.

In an interview, the Deputy CEO Virgin Mobile India, Jamie Heywood has stated that the company (Virgin Mobile) has a commercial agreement with Tata to offer its service on the GSM network, and the agreement is technology-agnostic.

According to Heywood, the tie up will also help Virgin Mobile expand its subscriber base, because around 70 per cent of India's mobile subscribers use GSM network. The company will use the franchisee model rather than the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model for its offerings in GSM. The company has used both these models in its global operations.

Virgin Mobile is mobile phone service provider based in the United Kingdom. It also operates in India, France, Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States and France; the brand survived only briefly in Singapore. It provides GSM services in the UK, France, South Africa and Australia, while CDMA services in the United States and Canada.

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