Coinciding with the launch of its 2G (second generation) mobile phone services in India, Unitech Wireless has sent a proposal to the government for entering the national and international long distance (NLD and ILD) segments.
The foreign investment promotion board (FIPB), under the finance ministry, will soon examine the application of Unitech Wireless (branded as Uninor) for offering long-distance calling services.
Uninor is a joint venture between Norway’s Telenor and real estate firm Unitech. The company last week launched its GSM service across seven circles. Meanwhile, Telenor, which holds 49% in Uninor, has received government approval to raise its stake to 67.25%. The Norwegian operator is already present in several Asian countries, including Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand. Recently, Australian communications major, Telstra, sought government permission to enter India to provide ISP (internet service provider), NLD and ILD services. Telstra’sproposal is also with the FIPB.
The ILD and NLD licencees in India include foreign players like BT Global, AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon and SingTel Global. To promote growth of NLD service, the entry fee for new licence was recently reduced from Rs100 crore to Rs2.5 crore. The annual licence fee for NLD licences was slashed from 15% to 6% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). As for ILD service, the entry fee was reduced from Rs25 crore to Rs2.5 crore. And the annual licence fee was decreased from 15% to 6% of AGR. Foreign investment in the telecom sector is currently capped at 74%. Also, there are several security-related conditions that a telco must satisfy to operate in India.
Comments