Telenor debuts with lower rates

NEW DELHI: Norway’s Telenor, the world’s sixth-largest mobile operator, on Thursday launched services in India’s crowded mobile market under the brand Uninor with tariffs as low as 29 paise per minute for local calls and 49 paise for long-distance calls, further intensifying the ongoing price war in the world’s most competitive telecom market.

“This is indeed a milestone in a longer journey to become a significant operator in India,” the company’s MD for India Stein-Erik Vellan said. Telenor’s operations here are through Unitech Wireless in which it holds 67.25% stake.

“Unitech Wireless has kicked off operations in seven circles — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, UP East, UP West and Bihar (including Jharkhand) — and will extend operations to more zones early next year,” Mr Vellan said. He also clarified that Telenor will not join the per-second billing tariff option. “Our tariffs are more attractive, especially for those customers who want to talk longer,” he added.

Confirming an earlier ET report, Mr Vellan said that even after factoring in the ongoing price war, the telco was confident of achieving an EBITDA break-even in three years and would have positive operating cashflow within five years of launch.