Telenor committed to India investment; eyes 8% mkt share

Amid reports that it may quit India due to mounting losses, new telecom operator Uninor today said its foreign partner Telenor was committed to its investment in the joint venture with Unitech.

Norwegian telecom firm Telenor has 67.25 per cent stake in Uninor (a joint-venture between Telenor and Unitech) and was awarded Unified Access Service (UAS) licence along with start-up spectrum for nation-wide mobile services in 2008.

"Uninor¿s target is still to secure a 8 per cent market share by 2018, be EBITDA positive in 3 years and cash-flow positive in 5 years.

"This has not changed. Telenor Group is a long-term participant in the Indian market. We are committed to India and our investment in Uninor," a senior official of Uninor, who also represents Telenor in India, said.

Nine months after its debut in the Indian mobile-phone market, Telenor has accumulated about USD 556 million in operating losses.

According to analysts, over crowding of mobile market with nearly 14-15 operators in each circle and with tariffs touching lowest in the world it was becoming more and more difficult to sustain here.

Uninor has stated that its ambition is to focus on being best on three things. First, distribution, since a direct contact with the customer is crucial. In other Asian markets where Telenor operates, it is best-positioned on distribution and, "we want to replicate that in India too," Uninor officials said.

Second, Uninor wants to be the best on basic services like voice and 2G data services. Third, Uninor wants to be low on costs, and take advantage of having no legacy issues.

Asked whether the company may decide to surrender its licence in case the government agreed to give exit route to new telecom operators in the wake of inordinate delays in rolling out networks and start services, the company said there was no such plan.

Uninor is offering services in various circles and has accumulated a subscriber base of over 90 lakh at the end of August this year and has claimed to grown at 32 per cent over the previous month.