(19 July 2005 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has entered into a partnership with Thompson to jointly explore opportunities, to provide new technologies to the Indian media and entertainment market.

The companies will explore new opportunities in managing and delivering content for third parties including broadcasters and content providers, aiming to offer leading edge solutions to the Company's Media & Entertainment customers in India. Similarly, Thomson believes opportunities will open up for its Grass Valley broadcast and network activity and its Technicolor business, which provide services to media content creators and distributors, says an announcement posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) website.

The partnership will help Thomson to gain a foothold in the Indian market and will leverage the reputation of the House of Tatas, the brand recognition of 'Tata Indicom and the Company's expertise and presence to grow its broadcast, network and telecom activities. The move is in line with Thomson's two-Year Plan to grow revenues by  1.5 -  2 billion by the end of 2006 and to broaden the Group's Media & Entertainment client base, notably in Asia, the posting further adds.

In addition, Thomson and the Company will explore development of end-to-end solutions for network operators, such as optimised satellite transmission as well as content management and distribution solutions like digital cinema, based on Thomson's world-leading position in solutions and access products.

"The Media and Entertainment sector in India has seen unprecedented growth in the recent past primarily due to the increasing appetite of the Indian consumer, the potential for which is growing by the day. It is therefore a challenging task for service providers like us to provide state-of-the-art solutions which facilitate opportunities/or growth for our Media and Entertainment Customers from this sector ," said VSNL operations director N. Srinath.