India’s Tata Group has reportedly informally notified the government of plans to shut down its wireless business Tata Teleservices after 21 years in operation.
Tata Group executives have been meeting with Department of Telecom and other government officials to discuss ways of surrendering or selling off the struggling Tata Teleservices’ spectrum assets.
According to the report, which cites unnamed sources, the operator will have 60 days to complete the wind-down process once it formally begins. The company will need to give customers 30 days’ notice of its intent to shut down.
Tata Teleservices was launched in 1996 as a landline company, but moved into mobile services in 2008 under a partnership with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo.
After DoCoMo decided to enter the loss-making JV in 2014 the company pursued a sale to larger rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, but these talks fell through, prompting parent company Tata Group to consider shutting down the operations instead.
On the record, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran would not confirm whether a shut down will take place, but said he will have to make a “tough call” surrounding the future of the venture.
If it takes place, the closure will affect around 5,000 Tata Teleservices employees nationwide.