Posts Tagged ‘S Tel’

To protect mobile users’ interest in the backdrop of cancellation of 2G licences by the Supreme Court, telecom regulator TRAI is likely to come out with fresh guidelines on the business modalities to be followed by the companies that have lost licences, according to sources.

As the companies, which have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, are set to lose the existing licences in four months, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is examining the issues such as selling recharge coupons and fresh connections by these service providers, sources close to the development said.

Last week, the apex court had ordered cancellation of 122 2G licences terming them as illegal. As per the Court order the existing licences are valid for only four months.

The companies that are set to lose on account of the cancellation of the licenses are Uninor (joint venture between Unitech and Telenor of Norway), Loop Telecom, Sistema Shyam (joint venture between Shyam and Sistema of Russia), Etisalat DB (joint venture between Swan and Etisalat of UAE), S Tel, Videocon, Tatas and Idea.

Uninor India

Uninor Wireless plans corrective measures to improve India business

Telenor said its Indian operations will see a loss of `4,500-5,500 crore this fiscal and would face a further hit of `6,500-7,500 crore between 2011 and 2013 before breaking even. This is in line with its projections in 2008, when it had told investors it would take a ` 15,000-crore hit in India over five years ending 2013, before making cash profits

Many of the new entrants are battling for survival as the tariff wars in India’s ultra-competitive mobile market have significantly lowered the average revenue per user, making their businesses unviable. These companies, which include Videocon, Uninor, Sistema-Shaym, Loop, S Tel, Etisalat and Allianz Infratech, have all struggled with their rollout plans. Some of them have also approached the government seeking exit options.

While Uninor has been the best performer among the new entrants that launched services last year, it has failed to make a dent in the world’s fastest-growing telecom market as it commands only about 1% market share in India’s 650-million strong mobile base.