Uninor, the Indian mobile operator which is a venture between India’s Unitech and Norway’s Telenor, will gradually scale down operations in four of the 13 telecoms zones where it is present to focus resources on the remaining zones, the company said on Tuesday.
Uninor is one of the eight mobile operators who are set to lose a total of 122 licences after the Supreme Court’s verdict earlier this year to cancel 2G licences issued under scam tainted ex-telecom minister A Raja, over irregularities in their allotment and allocation in 2008.
The companies who wish to win back their licences will have to participate in fresh auctions for spectrum, the complete rules of which are still to be finalised.
“With lack of clarity around the auctions continuing, the company is now forced to take stronger steps to ensure optimal fund utilisation,” Uninor said in a statement.
Telenor Group will continue funding support to Uninor for the 9 Indian telecom regions it plans to focus on, CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said in a statement.
Uninor has 6.8mn customers who will be affected in the 4 telecom regions of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa.
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