The company is open to the idea of entering into a joint venture alliance with a local partner at a later date, senior company executives said.Speaking to eFE, TDF country advisor Achille Forler said that to start with the company will put in place a wholly-owned subsidiary in the country by September this year. "This will be followed by acquiring sites and putting up infrastructure in the 40 cities where private FM players are slated to start their operations," Forler said. The company has earmarked an initial investment of up to Rs 300 crore for the purpose, he added.

It may be noted that the government has recently paved the way for entry of third party service providers in the FM broadcast business. India would be the company's second stop in Asia, after presence in China.

According to Forler, the infrastructure services market is expected to be worth around $1 billion market over the next decade. Forler said TDF would be interested in offering solutions in the digital terrestrial broadcast and digital cinema business when it opens up. Also in the pipeline are offering solutions relating to intelligent transport systems.

The company is open to enter into alliances with local Indian companies to offer value added services, Forler said.TDF is one of the leading infrastructure and support services company in the world in the broadcast transmission business.

Forler said that the company is currently manning over 18,000 FM transmitters across the world. Apart from France, TDF broadcast services covers several European countries including United Kingdom, Poland, Finland and Switzerland.