Visakhapatnam: Tata Teleservices Limited, the private basic telephone service provider for the state of Andhra Pradesh, has announced the commercial launch of 'Tata mobitel' in the city of Visakhapatnam. The launch marks the expansion of the company’s limited mobility (WLL - Wireless in Local Loop) services in the third city of Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

Speaking at the launch, Mr.S.Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices Limited said, "We are customer focused and have always provided the latest in technology that brings with it a lot of benefits to our customers. The company has adapted itself with the ever changing and expanding telecom market and has always made the first move be it the CDMA, Centrex, Smart Card based pay telephony or Tata mobitel."

Tata mobitel is aimed at customers who are in need of mobile telephone services within the city and prefer having a single number that can be used at their residence, office and while on the move. This segment comprises largely of small-scale businessmen, professionals and executives. Customers of Tata mobitel can afford to be mobile, as they don’t have to pay airtime costs for receiving calls and pay only Rs 1.20p for a three-minute local call. The call charges are the same as fixed telephone call charges. So far, the company has a satisfied customer base of over 4000 users of Tata mobitel in Hyderabad and Vijayawada. Quick roll out and easy connectivity, has been the driving force behind the success of Tata mobitel in these two cities.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ajay Pandey, Chief Operating Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited said, "The vision of becoming a customer-focused organisation offering quality, convenience and accessibility has always been the core of our business model. After mapping our customer expectations, we plan to aggressively bring new technology, add innovative products and services and increase the coverage area to make a major leap into the future. Our plan is based on providing further value addition to our existing customers and integrate our operations to bring increased efficiency, enhanced flexibility and expanded reach."

Tata Teleservices will invest an additional Rs. 500 crores in the state, over the next few months to bring a range of innovative customer centric products and services powered by new technology. This will raise the company’s total investment in Andhra Pradesh to Rs.1600 crore. The company will focus on increasing its geographical coverage and will introduce innovative technology to meet the changing needs of consumers. Tata Teleservices will also expand its coverage by installing more than 1,000 kilometers of optical fibre cables, linking Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Vizag, Nellore and Tirupathi. The company plans to double the number of cell sites to expand its wireless coverage area in Hyderabad and Vijayawada. The company will also roll out its services in Rajamundhry, Kakinada, Eluru, Tirupati and Nellore in next six months.

Background Information:
Tata Teleservices Limited is a part of the Tata Group, India's largest business house with 82 companies. Tata Group has over 2.6 lakh employees and 27 lakh shareholders with a turnover of US$ 8.8 billion.