Tata Teleservices, formerly Hughes Tele.com, will be introducing limited mobility services in key markets of Maharashtra including Mumbai by end of year 2003.

The company has earmarked Rs 350 crore for code division multiple access (CDMA)-based limited mobility services and for expanding fixed line services in the state.

Ajay Pandey, chief operating officer and incharge of day-to-day operations of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), said, "We have earmarked Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.5 billion) budget to roll out our limited mobility services in Maharashtra. The funds will be utilised to expand our fixed-line services in other areas of the state."

The company is planning to extend its reach to other commercial centres in Maharashtra such as Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Sangli and Ahmednagar.

"My experience in other circles, especially Andhra Pradesh, shows that there is enough market potential areas/places other than the couple of major cities and towns in the state. By focusing on other commercial centres in the state such as Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad among others, we aim to increase the percentage of contribution to the company's total turnover from rest of Maharashtra to 40 per cent as compared to around 20 per cent now," Pandey added.

Tata Teleservices, in June 2002, entered into an agreement with Hughes Network Systems, the Ispat group and Alltel Corporation (principal promoters of Ispat group) to acquire 50.83 per cent of the paid-up capital of Hughes Tele.com India.

The Tata group's total equity rose to 70.83 per cent in HTIL after it acquired additional 20 per cent following an open offer.

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) largely focuses on offering telephony and Internet service provider in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune.

With the acquisition of HTIL, Tata Teleservices has six basic circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, New Delhi and Maharashtra (including Goa).

The acquisition gives TTSL immediate presence in Maharashtra with a base of about 197,000 lines including over 145,000 lines in Mumbai.

Currently, Tata Teleservices-Maharashtra is exploring possibilities of deriving synergies with the Tata group's existing infrastructure in the state. It is evaluating options of utilising Tata Power's optic fibre network in and around Mumbai as well as that of VSNL.