Arun 795 Report post Posted July 6, 2007 Press Trust of India July 05, 2007 02:40:58 PM The Department of Telecom may soon allow US telecom firm Verizon Wireless to offer national and international services in partnership with domestic consumer durables giant Videocon Group. Official sources said Verizon's license application was under process and "there should be no problem in issuing them Letters of Intent for National and International Long Distance (NLD/ILD) business". "There were some gaps in their documents and those anamolies have been corrected," a source said. Verizon has tied up with Videocon for a foray in long- distance telephony venture. The company will offer virtual private networks/managed private line services (VPN/MPLS). Global telecom majors Orange and Cable & Wireless (C&W) have also sought NLD and ILD licenses and have approached Foreign Investment Promotion Board to get an entry into India. Verizon's proposed entry follows that of other global firms like AT&T and BT. AT&T was the first multinational firm to receive NLD/ILD licences under guidelines that allowed 74 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector. It was also the first to launch services. AT&T has partnered with Mahindra group, which has interest in IT and automobile sectors. British telecom firm BT has a partnership with Jubiliant Group, which has interest in pharmaceuticals and media. BT had early this year inaugurated one of its nodes in Chennai to operate VPN/MPLS services. Another British telecom player Cable & Wireless (C&W) has already obtained approval to launch NLD/ILD services in India. The company acquired 74 per cent stake in Cable & Wireless Networks India, an entity incorporated in January. The remaining 26 per cent will be picked up by an Indian partner. The business generated by the long distance segment in India is estimated to be worth over Rs 10,000 crore. The long-distance sector in India was opened up for competition in December 2005, when the government slashed the entry fees, revenue share and waived the roll-out obligations on all players in this segment. Since then, DoT has received more than 25 applications for NLD and ILD licences and cleared several of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolrajiv 1 Report post Posted November 1, 2007 Source - http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071101/asp/...ory_8498082.asp Verizon gets DoT licence New Delhi, Oct. 31: US-based wireless operator Verizon today got the letter of intent from the department of telecom to launch both national and international long distance services. The Videocon group is Verizon’s joint venture partner. John Killian, president of Verizon Business, said, “This is an important milestone in the provision of services to our customers. We look forward to building on our presence in India.” The licences will enhance the company’s ability to provide advanced telecommunications services to multinational companies with operations in India, as well as to multinational firms based in the country, he added. The joint venture is called Verizon Business. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
