Uninor |

Uninor offers fixed-price scheme for Facebook, WhatsApp usage

Uninor is offering what it claims is the telecom industry’s cheapest access to popular social networks Facebook and WhatsApp, as Telenor’s Indian unit aims to double its data users and revenue in 2014.

In line with the Norwegian parent’s global strategy, Uninor is offering both apps at fixed prices, instead of measuring usage through megabytes and gigabytes. For example, an hour of unlimited Facebook app usage will cost 50 paise for a Uninor customer, while a day’s usage will cost 1. WhatsApp will cost 1 for a day and 5 for the week. According to the company, this could lower a user’s spending on those apps by about 50-60%.

“Internet is the way in which customers consume data and our approach will be to make that usage the cheapest among all operators,” Morten Karlsen Sorby, Uninor’s nominated CEO, said in a statement.

As much as 24% of the company’s about 28 million subscribers spread across six circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat are data users. The company launched the offer in Gujarat on Monday and will soon launch in Maharashtra and Goa, the circles where Uninor has seen the highest internet consumption over the past year. Uninor will subsequently launch the programme in its remaining circles.

“Selling internet as rupees per MB is like selling air or train tickets as rupees per kilometre. Customers use internet for services like Facebook or WhatsApp. Our plan is to make these services the cheapest on Uninor,” said Sorby. He, however, admitted that such an offer would hurt its SMS revenue, but hoped to offset that through higher revenue from data.

The company currently offers its services to pre-paid users over the second-generation mobile technology, which many say could hamper its plans to add data users since the speed on this technology is typically far slower than on 3G.

Uninor Attains Fastest Break-even In Gujarat With Low-Cost Model

It seems that Uninor has found a new formula for success in the ongoing uncertain times. The telco which is known for its low-cost operating model, has recorded another break-even – this time in the Gujarat circle.

The company has achieved this milestone within 3 years of start of operations, and claims that it is the fastest break-even by any mobile operator in the state. “With break-even achieved and fresh spectrum for 20-years secured, we are now ready for our second phase of investments and growth in Gujarat,” says Yogesh Malik, CEO of Uninor in a press statement.

The telco, which operates in six circles, has targeted an EBITDA and subsequently a cash-flow breakeven in all its circles within the current calendar year. So far, it has managed to achieve breakeven in two circles-Uttar Pardesh East and Gujarat.

The company, despite being a late entrant in India’s telecom landscape, has set an aggressive strategy for growth. While most of country’s telecom operators are cutting freebies and identifying various other means to improve their profitability, Uninor has taken a different route and had decided to increase commissions to smaller retailers and distributors in a bid to improve its profits.

Its vision is also commendable, as it never followed a crowd. The company also let go of an opportunity to participate in the 3G or BWA auctions and stuck to its strategy of focusing on voice operations when other telcos spent hundreds of millions on 3G spectrum. Some of the other innovative steps taken by the company includes, increasing commissions to smaller retailers and distributors; hiring autowallas and newspaper vendors as sales agents and by introducing an innovative business model by outsourcing most of its functions including human resource and finance to save on costs.

These initiatives have helped company to offer calls at around 45 per cent lower tariffs compared to other operators. Along with this, the telco also had a firm focus on basic services for the mass market.

The company currently operates in six circles—Maharashtra and Goa, Gujarat, UP East, UP West, Bihar and Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, and geared up to take several marketing initiatives to beat the crowd.