AT&T is looking for a way to get back into India`s lucrative and growing telecom market and it thinks its answer might be found with Indian incumbent telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL). A report in The Economic Times revealed that the U.S. telco has asked BSNL if it could become an investor. At this point, it`s not clear if the Indian government if interested in allowing a foreign investor to buy a stake in BSNL.
Of course, any potential deal with AT&T or another foreign service provider would first have to gain the Indian government`s approval. "The government is unlikely to sell a majority stake in BSNL, which is already undergoing restructuring. If at all there is a sale to a foreign operator, it will not be more than 26 percent, considering the sensitivity of the sector," according to an unnamed source close to BSNL. However, both AT&T and BSNL have denied that any such deal is in the works.
The U.S. telco`s desire to reenter India`s telecom market comes at a time when the country is seeing rapid growth in the telecom sector. A yearly survey by Voice&Data reported that India`s telecom subscriber base grew by 10 million each month last year, reaching 384.7 million by last December. AT&T is not the only telco interested in India. Verizon Business has also been expanding its presence in the region to serve business customers.
