Will outlast new mobile operators: Telenor

NEW DELHI - Telenor, the parent company of Indian mobile operator Uninor, is confident of outlasting other new entrants as revenues decline and consolidation in the industry looms large.

“Consolidation will happen in future…We will certainly survive,” Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive of the Telenor Group, told IANS.

Uninor, which has a user base of 11.2 million, added over 2 million in September. It has become the largest player in terms of new subscriber additions in the 13 circles where it provides services.

The Norway-based telecom giant’s subsidiary had jumped on the low pricing bandwagon, which eventually resulted in an out-and-out tariff war.

On being asked if the company intended to carry on with its aggressive pricing strategy in the Indian market, Baksaas said: “We have not resorted to any cheap tariffs stunt but to an efficient tariff strategy.”

He said Uninor will monitor the market scenario and accordingly adapt its pricing and other strategies.

About 18.18 million new mobile subscribers were added in August taking the tally of Indian mobile users to over 670 million.