New Call Telecom gets Approval to Acquire Ozone Networks by FIPB

New Call Telecom, the global telecoms and technology firm, has been granted permission to acquire India’s leading public Wi-Fi provider, Ozone Networks. The permission, granted last week by India’s Foreign Investments Promotion Board, signals the company's continued commitment to become the leading internet services firm in the country.

Founded in 2008, Ozone Networks is India’s top public Wi-Fi provider and operates the largest number of public and private Wi-Fi hotspots in India. It powers Wi-Fi in many of the largest restaurant and shop chains and the top 23 major metros. It has deployed 2,000 public hotspots with 6,500 total access points, which includes private hotspots in educational institutions, hospitals and hotels.

Ozone Wi-Fi locations include McDonalds, Costa Coffee, Oberio hotels, Barista coffee, Mumbai airport, Apollo hospitals, HausKaus village, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. More than 2.5 millionpeople connect to Ozone hotspots every month and growing fast, and the business saw a 200 per cent growth in data in the last fiscal year.

In November 2014, Ozone also signed a ‘Wi-Fi as a service’ strategic partnership agreement with Ericsson to provide carrier-grade Wi-Fi network across 30 cities in India. This was the first deal of its kind announced by Ericsson anywhere in the world.

New Call Telecom is a fast-growing internet services and telecoms company, with interests in the UK and the emerging markets. It is now the second largest VoIP platform in the Middle East and the third largest premium ad platform after Google and Facebook in South Asia. Last year it acquired Nimbuzz, one of the largest instant messaging platforms in India and the Middle East, with more than 210 million users. It also recently announced that it is in discussions with 12 more Indian companies with a view to acquiring further businesses over the next year. New Call originally announced its intention to acquire Ozone in February 2015.

Nigel Eastwood, CEO of New Call Telecom, says: “We are delighted that the Indian government has now granted us the permission we need. The Internet is the backbone of the Indian economy, and will play a massive role in providing people in the country with the important services they want, connecting them for the first time to the internet of things, including communication, e-commerce, e-healthcare and e-education.”

"Public Wi-Fi is an affordable way for many people in India to access the Internet, who might otherwise be excluded. Today, Ozone Networks is connecting millions of consumers each month to the Internetand is already positioned as a key enabler for digital India”

Sanjeev Bobby Sarin, Founder and CEO of Ozone Networks, says: "We are delighted to join the New Call family. Together, we share a vision to connect hundreds of millions of Indian people to the Internet by 2020. The permissions mean that we can now concentrate on realising the potential that public Wi-Fi offers, bringing it to new cities in India, as well as rolling it out to rural communities too."

About New Call Telecom:

New Call is a global internet services and technology company, with interests in the UK and emerging markets. Part of the New Sparta Group of companies, it has recently acquired and launched a number of large mobile apps and digital services aimed at the emerging market consumer, including instant messager Nimbuzz, caller identification app Holaa!, and public Wi-Fi provider Ozone.

In the UK, it operates the country's fastest-growing residential broadband provider, Fuel Broadband, and a number of international calling services. Last year, it also acquired global voice wholesale and call termination company WaveCrest, which also operates voice calling apps for many major international brands. New Call was recently listed in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100, as one of the fastest-growing privately held technology businesses.

About Ozone Networks:

Founded in 2008, Ozone Networks is the leading public Wi-Fi service provider in India. The company has deployed 2,000 public hotspots with 6,500 access points across 26 different cities. It provides Wi-Fi hotspots in the top 23 major metros in India as well as coffee shops, restaurant chains, airports, education establishments, hotels, hospitals to commercial establishments. With Class ‘A’ ISP license, the company caters to 5 segments: operators, system integration, super luxury hotels & boutique hospitals, public Wi-Fi hotspots and international Wi-Fi roaming.