AT&T is in talks with major telecom carriers in India to offer MVNO services to enterprise customers. Typically, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) use a partner’s backbone to offer services. V.S. Gopinath, Chairman and CEO of AT&T Global Network Services India, told eWorld, “We would be very interested anywhere in the world to pursue MVNO options because of client demand.” He reasons that CIOs and CFOs in AT&T’s client companies have a fair idea of how much they spend on voice, data, hosting, applications and hardware. “But ask them the cost of the mobility of their workforce, and you realise they are not very clear here.” If an MVNO service provider could offer outsourced services, then policies governing mobility and related spending can be easily implemented. However, for now, AT&T is waiting for regulations to be announced in India. “We have spoken to carriers and are waiting for the regulations.”

AT&T recently set up a data centre in Bangalore. It has spent about $1 billion in the past year and about $3 billion since 2007, across its operations, including in the Asia Pacific and India regions. India has been carved out of the overall Asia Pacific region. Due to the company’s climbing growth rates in India, its management here requires autonomy for quick decision-making.