STel, a Batelco Group joint venture company in partnership with the Chennai-based Siva Group, has launched its mobile services in India, announced the company chairman.

“Initiatives are also underway to launch in three more circles by the end of Quarter 1, 2010. These milestones are consistent with our plans which we had previously announced to the market,” said Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco Group CEO.

“STel is one of the first new operators to enter the market in a very timely manner due to infrastructure sharing with existing operators” mentioned Swaminathan, director STel.

STel has licences for Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam circles.

STel has tied-up over Rs2,000 crore with debt component of Rs953 crore and the promoters (Siva Group) and Batelco have already brought in Rs1,253 crore ($2.69 billion) as equity capital.

Batelco has 49 per cent stake in STel and the Siva group holds 51 per cent stake.

“STel is also exploring its participation in the forthcoming auction for 3G mobile spectrum. Both the Siva and Batelco Groups are assisting in the process but we have to decide which circles we will be bidding for,” said Kaliaropoulos.

'The six growth circles with a population of 226 million people provide an opportunity to deliver a tailored, relevant value proposition,' said STel CEO Shamik Das.-TradeArabia News Service