Vandrevala in Calcutta on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, Jan. 27: Tata Teleservices plans to invest another Rs 9000 crore over the next two to three years to consolidate its operations and the Indicom brand of mobile products.

The company has already lined up investments worth Rs 9000 crore for the rollout of its CDMA mobile and fixed wireless services across 20 circles, which will be completed by March.

?We have earmarked an investment of over Rs 9,000 crore in the next 2-3 years to consolidate our presence in the telecom sector,? Tata Teleservices president Ajay Pandey said. ?We have already launched our services in eight circles and will spend Rs 2400 crore to introduce them in the remaining 12.?

Pandey said the company expects to take its subscriber base from 3 million at present to 4.5-5 million by March. This includes a 1-lakh subscriber target in Calcutta.

Tata Indicom is present in the four major metros and 775 cities and towns. ?The number will go up to 1250 by the end of the fiscal and to over 5000 in the next three years,? added Pandey.

Chairman F. A. Vandrevala said the company has set a target for 20-25 per cent market share by 2009 and has aimed to be among the top two players in the country.

The company plans to invest Rs 250 crore in Calcutta. It will set up 200 exclusive True Value shops in the city and 3000 across the country.

Besides CDMA mobiles, fixed wireless and push-to-talk phones, Tata Teleservices will also set up 500 public telephone booths in the city.

?We are offering both pre-paid and post-paid mobile services, including the per-second billing pre-paid service,? said Vandrevala.

The company has already set up 160 cell sites and expects to add another 90 in the next two months. ?With a 4 per cent growth in subscriber base, Calcutta has the lowest teledensity among metros,? said Vandrevala. ?We see immense scope in improvement of telecom infrastructure in the city and expect to take the growth to double digits.?

He also said there was no reason to integrate the services of VSNL and Tata Teleservices. ?While VSNL will offer corporate data service, international and national long distance telephony, Tata Teleservices will provide mobility services,? he said.