BANGALORE: Vendors vying for large IT outsourcing deals from Datacom Solutions and Unitech Wireless say negotiations have hit a roadblock, with the telecom entrants facing an uphill climb to raise funds and delaying the launch of their phone services.

The deals for the outsourcing of back-office and other IT functions could be worth a total of $1.5 billion (Rs 7,300 crore) and both companies have been in discussions with several vendors, including IBM, EDS, Wipro and TCS.

Senior officials part of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity that the outsourcing contracts are worth around $750 million each, to be implemented over five or more years. In 2004, IBM signed an outsourcing contract, then worth $750 million, with Bharti Airtel. It won a similar deal, valued up to $800 million, from Idea Cellular in March 2007.

With around 242 million subscribers, India is one of the most lucrative mobile phone markets in the world and phone firms are outsourcing IT contracts to focus on their core business better.

“We are worried about these companies’ fund-raising prospects,” said a senior official at one of the technology vendors. “It’s not that we are completely walking out of these contracts, but the momentum is missing and there is ambiguity about when actually they will launch services.”