MTS plans to expand its presence in India

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which operates under MTS brand on Tuesday said that it is looking to expand its presence in other circles in India, would depend on forthcoming auction of 800MHz band later this year.

The company also said that it would look at alternative options, such as trading and sharing of spectrum in both existing and new circles, if reserve price of spectrum is not reasonable.

"Spectrum is key element to a long-term presence in India," said Dmitry Shukov, Chief Executive Officer, SSTL.

"The company is looking to provide high quality data services. For this we will need 5MHz of contiguous spectrum in these circles," said Shukov.

Now company has 3.75MHz (three bands) in these circles, except Rajasthan where it has 5MHz.

However, the company thinks that the base price of Rs 13,425 crore for 5MHz of 800MHz band spectrum as quoted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is too high.

"A realistic reserve price will see increased activity in the band," said Shukov.

The company running its services in nine circles like Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West), West Bengal and Rajasthan.