Ratan Tata helped transform Indian telecom ecosystem: Story in 3 points

Ratan Tata, the iconic leader who led the Tata Group for over 30 years, passed away late night on October 9 at the age of 86. “For the Tata Group, Mr. Tata was more than a chairperson. To me, he was a mentor, guide and friend. He inspired by example. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity, and innovation, the Tata Group under his stewardship expanded its global footprint while always remaining true to its moral compass,” N Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of Tata Sons, wrote in the note announcing his demise.

Tata spent nearly 50 year of his career with the Tata Group. During this time, he transformed the Tata Group by foraying into various sectors from aviation to retail and from electronics to automobile. Beyond these, Tata Group, under his leadership, played a key role in transforming the Indian telecom sector and connecting the world. 

As we bid adieu to the Padma Vibhushan awardee Ratan Tata, take a look at how the Tata Group transformed the Indian telecom sector under his leadership:  

– Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited or VSNL was founded in 1986 as a network service provider under the ownership of the Indian government's Department of Telecommunications. It was by the Tata Group in 2008. After the acquisition, VSNL became Tata Communications. It provides telecom services such as Ethernet, SD-WAN, content delivery networks (CDNs), and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). Under the leadership of Tata, Tata Communication became a global networking giant. In 2012, it created a under-sea network of fibre optics cable circumnavigating the world. Today, Tata Communications provides network connectivity to more than 190 countries.

– Tata Group also forayed into the telecom services market in India with the launch of Tata Indicom in 2008. Later in 2008, Japenese telecom giant, NTT Docomo acquired a 26 percent stake in the company, post which it became Tata Docomo. While Tata Docomo didn't become a success story as some of Tata Group's other enterprises, shortly after the launch, it became the first private player to launch 3G mobile services in the country.

– Beyond telecom network and mobile services, Tata Group also forayed in the DTH (direct-to-home) market with the launch of Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky) in 2006. In 2012, Tata Sky partnered with Ericsson to launch the first video-on-demand service in India and in 2015, it became the first DTH operator to offer a 4K set-top-boxes to the users. According to the details shared by the company, Tata Play has a footprint of over 23 million connections in India.