Tanzania's government has plans to gain full ownership of Tanzania Telecommunications Corp Ltd (TTCL) by buying back a stake from the local subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.

Bharti Airtel, the biggest telecommunications firm India, holds the 35 per cent stake in Tanzania's state-run telecoms firm TTCL.

The Tanzania President's office announced that the government was all set to start talks with Bharti Airtel to buy back the stake to gain full control of the TTCL.

The statement also said that President Jakaya Kikwete had discussed the potential deal with Airtel's chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal during a meeting in Dar es Salaam last Thursday.

Bharti Airtel is the second-biggest mobile phone operator in Tanzania, after Vodacom Tanzania - the Tanzanian arm of telecommunications giant Vodacom Group.

Telecommunications sector is the fastest-growing sector in Tanzania. As of September 2012, the East Africa's second-biggest economy had 25.9 million fixed line and cell phone subscribers.

Meanwhile in India, Bharti Airtel is looking to sell 20-25 per cent of its stake in its direct-to-home (DTH) business. Sources with direct knowledge of the situation revealed that the country's biggest telecommunications firm is hoping to pocket up to Rs 1,650 crore (nearly $300m) from the stake sale.