Uninor's move to contract operation sparks resentment

The retailers and subscribers of Uninor in Odisha have expressed resentment over the company’s decision to scale down its operations in the state.

The company has decided to contract operation in four states including Odisha and focus its efforts on nine other telecom circles in view of continuing uncertainty over spectrum auction. The other three states affected are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

“The operator’s decision to scale down its operation in the state will pull down the prepaid recharge business by 50 per cent as every two out of three customers is a Uninor subscriber. Though another operator S-tel had pulled out of Odisha earlier, that had not impacted much as its subscriber base was very low,” said Gyana Ranjan Sahoo, a city based mobile recharge retailer.

On an average, the retailer posts business of Rs 35,000 per month from recharging of Uninor SIM cards alone.

Uninor, in which Norwegian firm Telenor holds over 67 per cent stake, has 6.8 million customers and 400 direct employees in these four circles. In Odisha, sources say, the operator has about 1.5 million customers and 150 direct employees.

“The company has carved a niche for itself among the cell phone users in the state owing to its economical tariff plans which no other operator provides. Even after the cancellation of license by the Supreme Court, the consumer base of the Uninor has multiplied. The recharge vouchers sales will be hit badly with this step of the company,” said Prasant Nayak, a Cuttack based retailer.

“I am left with no options but to switch over to another network which will charge less for dialing the ISD (International Subscriber Dialing) calls. Uninor, whose voice connectivity is clear and steady, charges only one paisa per minute for making calls to US,” said Pratik, a consumer.

The company has decided to stop activation of new subscribers in these four circles with immediate effect. For its existing customers, the company will serve thirty days notice before its operation in its telecom circles.

Telenor’s India unit is among the eight operators who are set to lose a total 122 zonal permits in September after a Supreme Court order revoked their telecom licences granted in a scandal-tainted 2008 sale.

Uninor will evaluate possibilities of relocating some of the employees to other circles and for the remaining, provide assistance in securing jobs outside the company, read a company release.

“Since the Supreme Court order, we have pursued every possible measure to take our business forward in its current form. However, we are now forced to take this difficult but necessary decision,” said Sigve Brekke, Managing Director, Uninor.