Telenor to remain in competition with 4G launch in six circles

Telecom service provider Telenor India has announced that they are set to provide full-fledged 4G service in six network circles by the end of this financial year.

"As we speak,we have already swapped 7,000 mobile sites. They are LTE ready. Based on this transformation we have started offering LTE in Varanasi. We expect the entire network to be upgraded by end of this financial year," the Chief Executive officer of Telenor India, Sharad Mehrotra said.

The company has awarded a Rs 1,240 crore contract to Chinese telecom equipment firm Huawei to modernise all 25,000 of its mobile base station in six telecom circles where it operates.

Telenor provides mobile services in UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Maharashtra and Gujarat. Together, these circles account for more than 50 per cent of India's population. The company has permit for Assam but is yet to start its services in the state. 

Mehrotra said 30 per cent of Telenor customers are using data and rest are using voice. "No doubt the future is of high speed but at same time, first-time data users are trying to experiment with internet on a network like Telenor. We have our own target segment. As the customer evolves, they expect higher service. In the future, we have to have high-speed data play. We are looking at spectrum auction very closely," Mehrotra said. He said the firm is working to build up digital products that its offers to customers as it ramps up the network.

As per Trai data, Telenor had 7.24 lakh mobile subscribers at the end of January and was among the top five telecom operators in terms of new subscriber addition.