NEW DELHI, India—Escotel, a cellular service provider in Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana and Kerala circles, this week crossed the 500,000 customer mark, becoming the fourth-largest cellular operator in India after Hutchison Group, AirTel and the BPL-BATATA combine.
Escotel Mobile Communications is a joint venture of India’s Escorts Group and First Pacific Company Limited of Hong Kong. Escotel Telecommunications, the holding company of Escotel Mobile, is slated to offload a part of its equity in favor of a strategic partner soon, company officials said.
The announcement was made by Rajan Nanda, Escorts Group chairman, while inaugurating the second mobile switching center for Uttar Pradesh West near Meerut. “With the addition of the new circles—UP (Uttar Pradesh) East, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal—soon we will be covering one-third of the Indian population. This will also give us a dominant presence in North India, anchored with a strong presence in Kerala in the South,” said Nanda.
