Vodafone Chief invites India telcos to work together

New Delhi, Mar 15 (UNI) Mobile phone giant Vodafone today invited local mobile services providers like Bharti to build infrastructure for mobile penetration in the country, especially in the rural areas.

''Mittal's and others can come and join us in building up mobile network infrastructure,'' Vodafone Chief Arun Sarin said.

Last month, Vodafone entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airtel-Bharti for infrastructure sharing, roaming and long distance services.

However, formalities with Indian players like Bharti is still to be completed for the proposed infrastructure building.

''An MoU is not a definitive agreement. It is not legally binding. It is just a statement of intent,'' Vodafone CEO told reporters here after inking an agreement with its local partner Essar.

He added that Bharti could help Vodafone penetrate the rural market through infrastructure sharing and he would like to convince his Indian partner Essar for the same.

After successfully bidding for majority stake of Hutchison Telecom in the Indian venture, Vodafone had unilaterally announced Bharti as a preferred carrier for NLD and ILD traffic.

Mr Sarin said, ''India is a large country which is yet to be serve with mobile service. We will reach the potential rural areas by having network sharing agreements with local providers.'' ''To build out rural India quickly, the decision will be taken in the best interest of the company,'' he added.

With a market share of 16-17 per cent presently, he said the new entity Vodafone Essar aims to become the number one mobile company in India by 2010.

Aiming to double its profit up to 30 per cent from the emerging markets, as it is about 15 per cent, the company would bring several billion dollar investments into India to enhance its network in the next two-to-three years, Mr Sarin said.

Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile operator in terms of subscribers outside China, will pay 11.1 billion for the 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd.

The deal, Vodafone's biggest since its record-breaking 231 billion dollar purchase of Germany's Mannesmann in 2000, saw the company again fight off with Reliance Communications, Hinduja and Essar groups.

Vodafone, which as a foreign company is barred by Indian law from owning more than 74 per cent of a local telecoms operator, currently has a 10 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd, the country's number one player.

''After completion of transaction, the issue will come up in the newly constituted board, and whoever offers us better terms will be considered,'' Essar chief Ravi Ruia said.

UNI