Tata Teleservices launches telecom services in Kolkata
January 28, 2005

• Launches telecom services in Kolkata, 24 North Parganas, 24 South Parganas and Howrah
  Launches the widest range of telecom products among service providers:
  a. Tata Indicom "Walky" — catering to the world’s largest subscriber base for fixed wireless phones (Will be offered both as postpaid as well as prepaid)
  b. ‘True Paid’ – India’s only honest, transparent and 100 per cent "True" prepaid Brand
  c. Tata Indicom Mobile — The simplest and affordable postpaid mobile service in the country
  d. Tata Indicom "Push-to-Talk" — A unique service targeted at the business, youth and family segment to be offered both on pre paid and post paid
  e. Tata Indicom "Public Telephone Booths" — One of a kind public calling experience
  
• Earmarks over Rs 250 crore investment in Kolkata for service rollout till March 2005
  
• Has set up over 200 True Value shops — Exclusive Tata Indicom shops to sell prepaid services
  
• Has set up over 500 public telephone booths across the city going up to 1,000 in the next few days.
  

Tata Teleservices, one of India’s leading telecom service providers, today launched its telecom services, branded as Tata Indicom, in the Kolkata circle.

Having earmarked an investment of over Rs 250 crore, the company is all geared up to mark its presence in the Kolkata circle. Tata Teleservices has already installed over 160 cell sites (which is the largest number set up by any operator at launch) in the first phase of its network roll out itself.

Tata Teleservices will provide seamless coverage in the Greater Kolkata Telecom District, which consists of 24 North Parganas, 24 South Parganas, Howrah and Kolkata. The company will shortly launch its services in key cities across West Bengal such as Durgapur, Asansol, Siliguri among others.

What makes this occasion significant is that Tata Teleservices is launching with nearly 200 cell sites at launch itself making this among the largest network implementations ever carried out at one time. The proposed 230+ cell sites, which will come up by March 2005, will ensure that the people of Kolkata experience a better telephony experience.

The company will offer the widest product portfolio among telecom service providers — mobile, fixed wireless, public telephone booths and a host of value added services. The company will offer both postpaid and prepaid based services in this region.

With this launch, Tata Indicom services are now available in the four metros of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in addition to the 775 other key cities and towns across the country. By March 2005, the company will offer services in an additional 40 cities primarily across the eastern part of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajay Pandey, president, Tata Teleservices, said, “ It’s my privilege to introduce Tata Indicom services to the people of Kolkata. The launch of telecom services in the state moves us a step closer to providing our customers access to the widest range of telecom services and products on a pan India basis. This launch is a key milestone in pursuit of realizing the Tata dream of having nationwide presence. Tata Indicom is committed to providing customers an unmatched quality of service, a host of value added benefits, and last but not the least, honest and transparent telecom services”.

Rajesh Puri, chief operating officer (COO), Tata Teleservices — Kolkata, West Bengal and Orissa circle said, “Tata Indicom promises to provide customers with a unique experience of latest technology at an affordable cost at an arm’s length. Our endeavour shall be to delight the customer and provide the advantages of Tata Indicom’s pan India presence. The launch of Tata Indicom in the region shall change the way people communicate and shall revolutionize tariffs, transparency and technology.”

Tata Indicom to revolutionise telecom services

• Tata Indicom’s most advanced network utilises over … cell sites that will provide Greater Kolkata Telecom District with unmatched coverage and voice clarity. The network rides on state-of-the-art mobile switching center from Ericsson and an intelligent network from Alcatel.
• Tata Indicom will deploy a state-of-the-art code division multiple access (CDMA) network in the Kolkata Circle. CDMA offers a graceful evolution path to the next generation wireless system dubbed as 3G CDMA. Key benefits of Tata Indicom’s CDMA network include improved call quality with better and consistent sound, minimum call drops, enhanced privacy, improved coverage and network efficiency amongst others.
  

Products and services being offered by Tata Indicom
CDMA Mobile Phone Service - Tata Indicom shall offer its CDMA mobile services that shall provide users voice and data services.

Walky — Leaders in the fixed wireless phone category (FWP), Tata Indicom has launched ‘Walky’ in Kolkata Circle. A feature-rich fixed telephony product, ‘Walky’ has immense potential in India. With the launch of ‘Walky’, Tata Indicom is looking at catering to different segments by offering a host of value-added benefits like the freedom of mobility within premises, high speed internet access, in-built speakerphone, caller id, missed call details, etc.

With Walky, Tata Indicom has introduced a single rate plan — In this plan, the more you use, the more you save. Further, customers can avail benefits of low monthly commitment, and discounts on usage

Push -To -Talk (PTT) — Tata Indicom has launched Push-To-Talk™ services in Kolkata. Push-To-Talk™ from Tata Indicom will allow customers to connect directly, in seconds, with other Tata Indicom Push-To-Talk™ users by simply pressing a button on their Push-To-Talk™ handsets.

This product is primarily targeted at corporates, small medium entrepreneurs (SME’s) and mass consumers. Push-To-Talk™ service will be available on Kyocera KX 440 handset with a host of additional features such as Brew Chat Applications group talk etc.

‘True Paid’ – India’s only honest and transparent prepaid brand — A simple, affordable and convenient way to go mobile

• Unveils 1-second pulse, 100 per cent talktime and one rate for local and STD calls on ‘True Paid’.
  
• Tata Indicom’s ‘Intelligent Network’ will bring to Kolkata a superior ‘True Paid’ 100 per cent prepaid service bundled with a host of value-added services.
  
• Backed by a range of never before initiatives, Tata Indicom has become the first operator in the country to launch True Paid T-SIM (RUIM) enabled handsets. Under the revolutionary True Paid offer, customers can opt for RUIM enabled Nokia 2280 and Motorola C131 handsets.
  

Outstanding value to customers

• Tata Teleservices is offering attractive value-for-money tariff plans and a range of handsets suited to diverse customer segments. Tata Indicom services will be available at exclusive franchisee showrooms and several retail selling points (RSP’s) across the state.
• Tata Indicom is offering attractive packages to suit the varying needs of all customer segments. Tata Indicom customers will be able to avail of attractive tariff plans, both in the post-paid and pre-paid categories.
  

Enhanced customer care through True Value Shops

• Tata Indicom brings to Kolkata one stop Tata Indicom stations aptly named as Tata Indicom “True Value Shops”. Here customers can avail of the convenience of all the services including purchase of mobile phones, fixed wireless phones (FWP) and fixed line phones, subscribe to value-added services, payment of bills and resolve any queries. Over 200 True Value shops have already been set up and the company plans to increase it to 500 by the year-end. Our brand ambassador, Saurav Ganguly will be inaugurating our first two “True Value Shoppe” situated in Lee Road, New Alipore on January 27 at 6 p.m.
  
• Tata Indicom offers 24 x 7 customer care through its customer care call center, which is supported by state-of-the-art integrated voice response system (IVRS) which also allows customers self-help options.

Brand ambassadors

• India’s most successful cricket captain, Saurav Ganguly and youth icon Irfan Pathan will be the face and voice for ‘True Paid’. While Saurav brings leadership and experience, Irfan Pathan brings fresh youthful energy. Together they promise to mirror the energy, optimism, hopes and achievements of over 2.82 million people across 18 circles.
  

About Tata Teleservices
Tata Teleservices is one of India's leading private telecom service provider. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom brand, and uses the latest CDMA 3G1X technology for its wireless network. Tata Teleservices currently operates in 18 of the 23-telecom circles i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka, New Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala and Kolkata. The company has a customer base of over 2.82 million. With a planned nationwide footprint across the country, Tata Teleservices will soon be launching its services in rest of West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.