Telenor is reportedly looking to strike more tower-sharing agreements in India as part of its efforts to maximise profitability from its new Unitech operation. According to The Hindu Business Line, Telenor has already struck a deal with Tata Teleservices for renting space in 40,000 towers, but needs 20,000 more to cover all the circles. “We have decided that we will not own any passive infrastructure,” Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor Asia, told the publication. “It’s cost effective to rent space on existing towers and it also allows us to roll out our services quickly.”

Earlier this week, Telenor announced it had finalised its acquisition of Unitech Wireless and made its first investment of INR12.5 billion (US$250 million) in the Indian greenfield operator. Telenor’s stake is currently 33.5 percent, but further investments during the course of this year (totalling INR48.7 billion) will take its eventual share to 67.25 percent. Unitech Wireless is one of the six new companies that were successful in winning Indian GSM licenses last year. The company has obtained licenses to operate in all 22 Indian telecom circles. Telenor is reportedly aiming to achieve an 8 percent market share in India via the acquisition. Market penetration for mobile usage in India is only 30 percent, meaning the potential for growth – in what is already the world’s second-largest market – is huge.