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AFK Sistema to Cover All India
Indian Shyam Telelink, where Russia’s AFK Sistema attempts to buy out a majority stake, will probably obtain a universal telecom license enabling it to render cellular and wire communication services in all India. Shyam Telelink will have to pay roughly $650 million for it.
India’s Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has authorized Shyam Telelink (where AFK Sistema owns 10 percent) to use GSM technology under the current license given for the cellular services provided under the CDMA standard. The licenses of Reliance Communications and HF-CL were widened as well, Indian Business Standard reported Friday. In AFK Sistema, they said they know about it but haven’t got the official notification yet.
An anonymous top-ranked source with AFK Sistema confirmed that they are waiting for the DoT's written notification in that will confirm the sanction for the universal license. “By our estimate, the license for 21 areas will cost roughly $650 million,” the source said. “When entering the stock capital of Shyam Telelink, we have had in mind that the company will be granted respective licenses and frequencies for the whole country.”
Shyam Telelink renders cellular services, the CDMA-800 standard, in India’s northwestern Rajasthan. According to India-Telecom, it had 99,600 cellular subscribers and covered 0.05 percent of Indian cellular market as of late August. The operator also services roughly 150,000 wire communication lines and owns 100 percent in local Shyam Internet. The principal holder is Shyam Group, where AFK Sistema bought 10 percent in September for $11.4 million. AFK Sistema has applied to India’s FIPB for the permit to extend the stake to 51 percent and the respective decision is expected at the end of this month.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 22, 2007
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