Telecom company Uninor is all set to turn into Telenor India in the six states where it has presence, on September 23. This will mark the transition of the company from a pure voice operator into a data player with 4G services.
Telewings Communications Services Pvt Ltd, which operates the Uninor brand, was recently absorbed as a 100% subsidiary of the Norway headquartered Telenor Group.
“The legal entity Telewings Communications Services Pvt Ltd has been changed to Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd since Uninor is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telenor Group...” a Uninor India spokesperson said in an emailed response to HT’s questions on the rebranding exercise.
Paris-based Havas will handle the rebranding exercise. Havas is one of the world’s largest global advertising and communications groups. A teaser advertisement about the new brand is likely next week. Sources said the corporate logo would be retained.
Uninor has GSM mobile operations in six circles: Uttar Pradesh (east), Uttar Pradesh (west), Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Telenor made its first capital injection into Uninor, promoted by Unitech Wireless, in 2009. Following the cancellation of 122 licences by Supreme Court for faulty allocation of spectrum, which included Uninor, the company bid for new spectrum and launched its moribund services.
{{/usCountry}}Telenor made its first capital injection into Uninor, promoted by Unitech Wireless, in 2009. Following the cancellation of 122 licences by Supreme Court for faulty allocation of spectrum, which included Uninor, the company bid for new spectrum and launched its moribund services.
{{/usCountry}}In the backdrop of a national furore on dropped calls, Uninor is offering one free call for every dropped call. It offers only prepaid connections and has hitherto been focussed on voice.
However, Uninor CEO Morten Karlsen Sorby had told HT last August that “We will soon start our testing for 4G services and offer it commercially where there is demand… We are no longer a voice only operator, our second phase of investment is to change from a voice-focussed to a voice and internet for all focussed operator.”