Telenor on Wednesday announced that it is rebranding its Indian operations as part of a renewed focus on positioning the company as a low-cost player.
The operation, which has sported the Uninor brand since it launched services in late 2009, will become Telenor India.
Essentially, it appears that Telenor is going after people who have yet to sign up for mobile services, who will therefore be low-ARPU users.
"This is about more than changing a brand name," said Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke.
"By taking a broader, value-driven position, Telenor India will appeal to new audiences with innovative services and a customer-first approach," Brekke said, adding that a large proportion of the Indian population remains unconnected to "modern" telecom services.
Teledensity in India stood at almost 80% at the end of June, falling to just 48.7% in rural areas, according to the latest figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
There were just over 1 billion telephone subscribers in the country at that date, the regulator’s numbers show, the vast majority being mobile customers. With a population of around 1.25 billion, and taking into account that official figures do not factor in multiple SIM ownership, that leaves a significant market to aim for, in volume terms at least.
"Two decades in Asia and six years in India have taught us how to make mobile communication services available to even more people," Brekke said.
"Our colleagues in India have shown the way and it feels both natural and like a pleasure to attach the Telenor name directly to the local operations," he added, pledging to "continue to deliver value for money," in the market.
