Unable to get spectrum in two circles of Kolkata and West Bengal, the Telecom service provider Uninor is reportedly scaling down operations fron these two cities.
It is found that Uninor has a subscriber base of 5.6 million in these two circles. However, the company has already suspended supply of new SIM cards and recharges in the two circles with immediate effect. Besides this, the company has also commenced the process of settlement of outstandings with retailers and distributors in Kolkata and West Bengal.
It is worth noticing here; presently, Telenor holds majority stake in telecom operator Uninor. However, according to Supreme Court order, the Uninor’s licenses are valid only till January 18, 2013. Post January 18 2013, the assets and business of Uninor will be transferred to Telenor’s Telewings. To the reader’s surprise, in the new start-up, Telenor will have majority stake of 74 per cent.
According to a spokesperson from Uninor, "The company will issue a public notice to all its customers in Kolkata and West Bengal requesting them to exhaust their balance by January 18, 2013, and utilise mobile number portability to port out to any other operator of choice.”
The spokesperson further added, “With no new 1800 Mhz spectrum auctions being indicated by the authorities and 900 Mhz spectrum is also likely not be available to auction winners in 2013, Uninor will have to stop its operations in the two circles of Kolkata and West Bengal on January 19, 2013."
