Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s Reliance Communications, country's largest integrated telecommunications service provider, and Alcatel – Lucent, well-known telecom equipment providers, have formed a global joint venture.

The JV Company will manage telecom network services. The deal is estimated at over 400 million dollar.

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent and RCom would form a joint venture company and the network management services would be outsourced to that JV firm.

The joint venture, which will employ about 1,000 people initially, will first provide managed services for Reliance Communications' CDMA and GSM networks in India. It will later take on projects for other firms in other parts of the world.

The latest joint venture will support the expansion and growth of Reliance Communications, within and outside India, bringing predictability of the operations and related expenses, while maintaining the highest standards of customer experience.

The joint venture is expected to earn revenues of $500 million within 5 to 6 years,

Alcatel and RCom have had a long standing relationship. In July last year, RCom had awarded an IP-based $400 million contract to Alcatel-Lucent to upgrade its CDMA and GSM network by adding additional mobile switching centers and base stations.