Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Airtel, has entered into a joint venture with Japanese internet firm Softbank Corp to offer mobile Internet services.

The two partners will have equal stake in the joint venture called Bharti Softbank Holdings Pte Ltd (BSB).

BSB will focus on three key areas: social media, gaming and e-commerce.

“India, which has emerged the second largest mobile market in the world, stands at the cusp of another revolution – mobile Internet,” said Mr Kavin Bharti Mittal, BSB’s Head of Strategy and New Product Development.

“With a fast growing economy, a large youth population and access to cheaper and faster data, there is a unique opportunity to build services ground up for mobile, especially in a country where the first screen for most is a mobile device. We are delighted to partner with SoftBank, whose vast experience in this area will help us build and invest in services for India.”

“Over the decades, SoftBank has endeavoured to develop new markets for Internet businesses, starting from the US, China and now India,” said Mr Atsushi Taira, a Director of BSB.

“I believe that through the mobile Internet, we can change people’s lives in India and empower each one of them to contribute to society’s exponential growth. I am very excited to be a part of this vision and delighted to have Bharti, with its unparalleled vision, knowledge and experience with emerging markets, as our partner. This partnership represents a significant step in SoftBank’s journey towards becoming No. 1 in the mobile Internet industry.”

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