News: Virgin Mobile plans joint venture with Tatas

(RTR 17/05/2007) Mumbai - Virgin Mobile is set to form an equal joint venture with the second-largest CDMA mobile operator, Tata Teleservices Ltd., the Economic Times newspaper reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources.

Virgin, part of British communications group Virgin Media , would license its Virgin Mobile brand and technology expertise in value-added services and handsets to Tata Teleservices, the newspaper said.

A spokeswoman for Tata Teleservices declined comment.

Tata Teleservices and its subsidiary, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd. , provide services in 20 of India's 23 telecoms zones, and had 11.4 million mobile subscribers at end-March.

India is world's fastest growing mobile services market with more than 6 million subscribers signing up each month, and that has attracted the interest of foreign companies.

Earlier this month, Britain's Vodafone Group Plc completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-largest mobile firm .

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest phone firm, owns 30.8 per cent in leading mobile services firm Bharti Airtel