Uninor rolls out services across five states

United Wireless, the joint venture between Norway's Telenor Group and Delhi-based Unitech Group said yesterday that the company's expansion plans are suffering due to the lack of clarity in equipment procurement norms and delay in telecom policy.

The company yesterday rolled out its services under the Uninor brand, across five circles - West Bengal, Kolkata, Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai and Gujarat - and is gearing up to roll out services in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in the next phase of expansion.

''We are already running behind schedule with our pan-India rollout since security clearance of telecom equipment is taking much longer than the usual 30 working days,'' Unitech Wireless corporate affairs executive vice-president Rajiv Bawa told the media yesterday.

Currently, Uninor has a presence in 13 telecom circles out of the 22 service areas in the country.

Following the restrictions placed on the import of Chinese telecom equipment, the company plans to procure network equipment from European telecom equipment vendors such as Nokia Siemens and Ericsson for the upcoming rollout, according to a senior Unitech Wireless executive.

''The delay is hurting all the operators. There is also no clarity on procurement from Chinese telecom equipment vendors. The priority now for us is to roll out in the four circles where spectrum is in place,'' said Bawa.