Given the cut-throat competition in the telecom sector, Telenor has finally decided to quit from the Indian market.
While announcing its second quarter results, Telenor said that the operator has decided not to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction in India. This essentially means that the company plans to close its operations in India. The reason to back off is attributed to the low returns on the proposed spectrum prices.
Telenor, which currently owns 4G bandwidth in seven circles, offers mere 2G services in six circles. While the operator was dependent on securing additional bandwidth at a reasonable cost, it hasn’t been very successful at it and also couldn’t fix any spectrum trading or sharing deals. Meanwhile, Vodafone is reportedly the frontrunner to acquire Telenor’s India operations which is valued at almost Rs. 6800 crore.
Speaking about the plans, Sigve Brekke, CEO, Telenor Group, said, “After thorough consideration, we have decided not to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction, as we believe the proposed spectrum prices do not give an acceptable level of return. This decision is regardless of the significant operational and financial improvement delivered by our Indian operation.”
