Uninor rolls out GSM services in Gujarat

Uninor today announced the commercial launch of its global GSM service in Gujarat alongwith the new concept of dynamic pricing (DP). With this, the telecom company is now present in 13 circles in the country including Maharashtra, Goa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Uninor is owned by the Norway based world’s 6th largest mobile services provider Telenor Group and India’s second largest diversified real estate major Unitech Ltd. The Telenor Group has invested Rs 6135.63 crore through new shares to hold 67.25 per cent majority stake in the company.

Talking about the launch and the new concept, Olav Sande, executive vice-president, Mumbai Hub, Uninor said, "The launch in Gujarat is an extremely important milestone for us. This takes us a step closer towards being a true pan-India operator and helps us serve our customers even better. The success of our dynamic pricing plan in other circles clearly suggested that customers believe that this pricing is just right for them. The extension of 24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP) in Gujarat is thus based on relevant consumer feedback. We strongly believe that customers in the new circles will accept this in a big way."

Branded as '24x7 Badalta Discount Plan', Uninor will offer call discounts that will change from 5 per cent to 60 per cent with location and with time - with each cell phone tower broadcasting a different discount. At the same location, the discount will change every hour. Through the launch of its service, more than 60 million customers across Gujarat will now be able to avail Uninor's GSM service. With its own network in 13 of the largest states in India and pan-India roaming already tied up, Uninor customers in Gujarat will be on a national mobile network from day one. In Gujarat, Uninor connections will be available at over 23000 points of sale through 114 distributors and at 24 exclusive shops in Gujarat. According to Rajiv Bawa, executive vice-president, corporate affairs, Uninor, discounts are calculated by a 'discount engine' that relies on IT systems to continuously monitor traffic at every tower in the network.

"Applicable discounts based on real time network traffic at every individual tower are broadcast to all mobile phone screens under the coverage of that tower. The system also ensures that the discount at which a call is originated is maintained through the duration of the call – even if the customer moves from the coverage of that tower to the next," he said.

Refusing to divulge network and investment details for Gujarat, Sande said that the company has around 20,000 base stations across the country, of which 300-odd are in Ahmedabad. Uninor has received 2G licenses for 22 circles and will soon be rolling out services in circles like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.