MTS to launch services in 4 more circles by Dec

MTS, the CDMA mobile services brand of Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), said that it will roll out services in four more circles by December.
Speaking to Telecom Yatra on the sidelines of a press conference, T Narasimhan, deputy chief executive officer, SSTL, said, “We will be launching our services in four circles by the end of this calendar year. The first launch will be in Andhra Pradesh in the second quarter, followed by Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East) and Gujarat.”
The company has completed one year since its launch in India, and to celebrate this, will offer free local and STD calls as well as free downloads through its Mblaze USB Broadband service to, its subscribers today.
Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer, SSTL, said that the company will have four million subscribers by the end of the month and has been adding about 1.5 million subscribers every month. He said the company’s current average revenue per user (ARPU) is about Rs 100, and it is most successful in the Karnataka and West Bengal circles. It hopes to break even by the end of 2012.
MTS also said it is planning to double the number of exclusive outlets to more than 200 in Delhi and NCR. Rozanov made it clear that the company has no plans to foray into GSM services and is totally committed to CDMA.
The company has also announced a tie up with over 200 operators across 90 countries to offer international Messaging services. These tie-ups will enable MTS to offer its services in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Singapore, UAE, United Kingdom, and USA.
MTS India has over four million subscribers and was launched in March 2009.