Telenor’s new majority-owned Indian operator – Uninor – switched on its first networks today in what it described as “the largest single-day launch” in India’s history. Services were launched simultaneously in the circles of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West and Bihar (including Jharkhand), covering a footprint close to 600 million people. National roaming agreements are in place to provide coverage elsewhere in the country. “We have started our service in India on day one as a pan-Indian national operator,” proclaimed Uninor MD Stein-Erik Vellan in a Telenor statement. The operator says its services will be retailed at over 210,000 points-of-sale via 1,000 exclusive distributors in the seven circles. Uninor services will also be available in 17 exclusive company-owned shops and 50 exclusive franchisee shops. The launch comes eight months after Norway-based Telenor bought a stake in the fledgling Indian operator (which was then known as Unitech). It now owns 74 percent of the firm. 

India is the world’s second-largest mobile market and is adding around 10 million new subscribers a month. However, the market supports over ten mobile networks and prices are among the lowest in the world. According to a Reuters report today, Uninor is to charge INR0.29 (US$0.006) per minute for local calls and INR0.49 for national long distance calls. However, the firm has eschewed the ultra-low cost ‘per-second’ billing plans that are being deployed by several Indian operators. Telenor has set a goal of controlling 8 percent of the Indian market by 2018. It recently trimmed its accumulated capex guidance for the first five years of its operations in India by NOK4 billion (US$712.6 million), and breakeven is not expected for several years. Telenor is to provide further details on the Indian launch on a conference call this afternoon scheduled for 15.30 CET.