Telenor Group CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said its Indian subsidiary Uninor aims for 50 percent of its customers to be internet users by 2017.
Fredrik Baksaas, who was in India recently, said mobile internet is a powerful catalyst for social and economic transformation and should be accessible to all.
Telenor CEO’s statement reflects mission of social media network Facebook.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said through Internet .org, the industry aims to make internet access affordable for people across the globe.
Zuckerberg, who is visiting India, said that the whole world being robbed of creativity and ideas because so many people in India are not online.
“India is an amazing country with unlimited potential. It is a place of big ambitions and Facebook is committed to the country. We see lot of growth for us here. Tomorrow I’m meeting the Prime Minister Modi. He is committed to connecting villages online and we are excited to see how Facebook can help,” Zuckerberg said, addressing a press meet in Delhi.
Uninor believes that its limited presence in India accounts for more than 50 percent of India’s population giving Uninor the ability to serve every second person in India.
Incidentally, Uninor is too small in India in terms of mobile subscriber base. Uninor, the 100 percent subsidiary of Telenor, has 40.1 million subscribers and presence in the six circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It will launch in Assam shortly.
Facebook supports Uninor growth
“In Uninor, the fast growth in internet usage is accelerated by strategic partnerships with online services such as Facebook and WhatsApp that stimulate usage and meets customers’ needs by offering them value and convenience. The internet is opening a world of new possibilities and helping people to transform and empower their lives,” said Baksaas.
The internet penetration in India is currently at 25 percent, or 245 million people. This number is expected to grow to approximately 500 million internet users by 2017.
Currently, 70 percent of the web traffic is coming from mobile devices and Uninor has seen a surge in their internet users in the market. The share of internet users in Uninor’s customer base has grown by 73 percent over last year.
In April this year, Uninor announced its internet strategy, moving from volume based offerings (megabyte and gigabyte offerings) to service-based offerings.
A global partnership between Facebook and WhatsApp with Telenor Group has helped Uninor to gain internet users. These products have helped Uninor grow its user base in the market by making the internet affordable and easily accessible to the mass market.
Baburajan K
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