NTT DoCoMo is to increase its investment in India’s Tata Teleservices Liminted (TTSL). TTSL is looking to raise up to $670m in a stock sell-off to fund network expansion in India, including a 3G wireless network, which was launched in November last year.

NTT acquired a 26 per cent stake in TTSL for $2.7bn in 2008, following which the latter’s 2G services were rebranded as TATA DoCoMo. CDMA-based services are also offered under the Tata Indicom brand.

As of January 2011, subscription numbers were around the 86 million mark. DoCoMo is planning to invest an additional $176m into TTSL’s network expansion; in a statement, the company said that this investment was part of its strategy of expanding its business presence and revenue streams in India’s rapidly growing market. Part of the funds have already been paid, with the remainder to be invested by May this year.

TTSL is India’s 5^th-largest operator. Last year, the company invested over $1bn in acquiring 3G licences to operate in nine of India’s 22 telecoms zones.