The company is also looking out for other operators in other circles who are keen to sell out or planning a tie up in its efforts to consolidate its leadership position in the circle.

``We are planning to consolidate our holdings... at the same time we are also looking at opportunities in other circles,'' said K A Seshasayee, chairman of Fascel and group vice president of Hinduja Group's telecom division. ``It will take some time to work out the details,'' he added. Due to policy restrictions, Seshasayee said the international partners like Bezeq are leaving the company as a promoter. In Shinawatra's case, the company has troubles inthe home market. HFCL, which currently holds 10 per cent equity in Fascel, has already reduced its holding from 33 per cent earlier this year. This was picked up by Indus Ind Telecom, the telecom wing of the Hinduja group.

At present, Thai company - Shinawatra holds 33 per cent equity in Fascel, and the outgoing Israeli company, Bezeq 16 per cent. KMFL holds 10 per cent stake while HFCL holds another 10 per cent. ``We will buy out all those who want to disinvest in Fascel,'' he said. This will lead to Hinduja's stake going over 50 per cent.

Fascel, with a subscriber base of 70,000, is the largest state circle among the cell phone companies. At present, only operators of Delhi and Mumbai circles have more than a lakh subscribers each. Fascel is also the double the size of its competitor, Birla AT&T in Gujarat circle. According to Seshasayee, the company is in talks with Nokia to provide third generation services which has been recently showcased in Telecom 99 trade fair held in Geneva. ``This will enableus to provide mobile internet connection, video conferencing and other value added services,'' he said. The potenatial of cell phones penetration in Gujarat circle is higher as many companies are investing in the state.