Telecom Lead Asia: Uninor is set to expand in Gujarat by setting up an additional 500 network sites by June 2013.
The telecom operator will also go for one more round of expansion in the second half of this year.
Uninor, which has reduced its presence in India, after the November 2012 spectrum auction, today claimed that this would be the fastest roll out by any Indian telecom operator in less than 3 years.
Meanwhile, Uninor achieved break-even in the Gujarat circle. Uninor has achieved this milestone within 3 years of start of operations, making it the fastest break-even by any mobile operator in the state.
The company’s low-cost operating model together with its success with a basic services focus for the mass market has contributed to the break-even in Gujarat circle.
“In fact, achieving profitability now further strengthens Uninor’s ability to continue offering the most affordable tariffs to the mass market and invest further in growing its operations in Gujarat,” said Yogesh Malik, CEO of Uninor.
Taking on leading mobile operators such as Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, etc Uninor says profitability does not require expensive tariffs or complex high-end services.
Reliance Communications, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, etc increased their cellular tariffs in the recent past to improve profitability. There was wide spread expectation that the partial exit of Uninor, Videocon, MTS India, etc, will prompt major telecom operators to increase mobile tariffs and that would impact consumers.
“This is about mobile users of Gujarat who have always sought value, finding it in Uninor. This is about a remarkable contribution from passionate employees, belief in the business from distributors and retailers and the people of Gujarat making the smarter choice,” said Jinesh Hegde, circle business head for Uninor in Gujarat.
By challenging costs through innovations in the network side and a prudent approach to marketing spends, Uninor has achieved one of the lowest cost per minute amongst all mobile operators in Gujarat.
At the same time, the company has been able to offer calls at 45 percent lower tariffs compared to other operators.
With break-even in Gujarat, two of Uninor’s six operating circles have achieved the EBITDA break-even milestone. The first telecom circle to achieve break-even was Uttar Pradesh.
The company has targeted an EBITDA and subsequently a cash-flow breakeven in all its circles in the current calendar year.
