"There are at least two such license holders with whom we are talking", Tata Communications COO Prabhat Pani told The Financial Express on the sides of press conference to announce the launch of the stored value Tata Cellular Freedom Card.

The move gains significance in the backdrop of Bharti Enterprises picking up controlling stake in JT Mobile, the licences for Andhra and Karnataka.According to officials, Tata too, has realised it needs to expand services beyond Andhra if it has grow at a faster clip.

There are several good pickings among cellular operators, particularly companies that have been unable to meet the license fee commitments, Pani said refusing to divulge the names of the companies the group was talking to.At least six operators have reportedly been unable to cough up the required 65 per cent of license fee they had to pay by November 30.

"However, it would make sense for us to look for such associations or takeovers in states within the vicinity of Andhra Pradesh," Pani said adding definite funds had been earmarked for the group's further expansion into the telecom sector, both geographically and in terms of areas of operations.

Significantly, Tata Industries would also be launching its Internet services soon with the DoT granting a Category-A license in the name of Tata ISP recently. Considering, the group already has an existing backbone and other infrastructure in the state Hyderabad could be one of the first places for the ISP to start operations from, Pani said.