Incoming buzz

New Delhi, Nov. 24: Australian telecom major Telstra is keen on re-entering the fast growing Indian market, nine years after it exited a joint venture with Modi Group.

Modi Telstra’s MobileNet was the country’s first cellular service that was launched in Calcutta in 1995.

Sources said Telstra might bid for wireless broadband spectrum to be auctioned in January. It has also applied to the department of telecom and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for permission to provide long-distance services.

India plans to sell wireless broadband radiowaves in the 2.3 gigahertz band in the third week of January. The pan-India reserve price for wireless broadband, or WiMax, has been set at Rs 1,750 crore.

According to telecom rules, while a foreign player can bid as a separate entity, it will have to form a subsidiary with a domestic partner before starting services.

Sources said Telstra was earlier in talks with Malaysia’s Maxis Communication for a minority stake in India’s Aircel. Maxis owns 74 per cent of Aircel, which is a dominant player in the Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles.

Telstra, which was one of the first foreign telecom firms to enter the Indian market in 1993 in a joint venture with the Modis, sold out in 2000. The company feared that it would not be able to meet its revenue forecasts.

Telstra had said at that time that India's stringent licensing regime had a negative impact on returns.

Industry experts said as Telstra faced slowdown on its home turf, it was now keen on a return to India where telecom penetration was still around 50 per cent.