2G auction outcome should not kill competition: Uninor MD
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- Business & Industry
- Friday, 06 April 2012 17:59
- Published on Friday, 06 April 2012 17:59
- Hits: 1279
Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
“The outcome of the 2G auction should not have an adverse effect on the competition present in the market today” said Uninor MD Sigve Brekke. Uninor is one of the companies whose fate hangs in balance due to the scrapping of the 2G license by the SC.
Interacting with the media in Ahmedabad, Mr Brekke said that the company has put forwards it arguments at the open house session held by TRAI in Delhi recently. They have also filed a review petition with the SC and are in discussion with the central government for a positive outcome.
Talking about the company’s performance in Gujarat, Jinesh Hegde, Head of Uninor's Gujarat circle said that “The company’s performance in Gujarat is better than the national average. Uninor has 37 Lac customers in Gujarat and added 4 Lac subscribers in February alone.” The main focus of Uninor is voice business and they are not focusing too much on the Value Added Service (VAS) aspect. At present 80% of the company’s revenues come from the voice calls and the rest from VAS.
The company is a joint venture between Norway-based Telenor and its Indian partner Unitech. The company is now looking for a new partner as Unitech has decided to exit the joint venture. Unless Uninor has a local partner, it will not be able to participate in the 2G license auctions to be held as per the SC ruling. This local player will have 26% share in the JV.
Talking about the company’s view on the whole issue of 2G license, Mr Brekee said that he does not find anything wrong in the first come first policy used by the Telecom Ministry. He further added that whatever is the outcome of the 2G auction, it should not reduce the number of competitors in the market. Citing a survey of conducted by the company in Delhi and Gujarat using, he said that a prepaid customer in Delhi pays 60% more than a customer in Gujarat for the same daily usage. The reason is that there are more telecom operators in Gujarat Circle than Delhi circle and this is keeping the prices lower in Gujarat.
Uninor has 4.2 Crore subscribers in India, accounting for 7% market share. The company plans to get to 10 % market share in the next year. That is if the company is able to keep its license which expires on June 2 this year.
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