The world?s seventh largest mobile operator, the Norway-based Telenor, which has 67.25% stake in the new licensee, Unitech Wireless, is drawing up a corporate structure very distinct from the currently followed models across the telecom industry in India to launch its operations towards the end of the year.
In its first exclusive interview with any media, Kerstin Thulin, chief HR Officer, Unitech Wireless told FE, ?We have divided our 22 circles into 11 business hubs. Each hub will have a head and will receive the support from the corporate office based in Gurgaon?. She said that the company has already identified six heads for the hubs and has short-listed three more.
? India is the fourteenth country Telenor will commence its operations in by the end of the year, so we are a strong and experienced player and we do know how to do the business but at the same time the Indian telecom market is extremely large in size and scale, it is a heterogeneous market and we enter it at a time when already over 10 incumbent operators are existing, so we need to be a lean organisation, very sharp in our aim and we realised that the best way to handle it was through decentralised operations?, Thulin said. The Norwegian operator has already completed the acquisition of 49% stake in Unitech Wireless and is awaiting the approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the balance. Since the country?s telecom policy allows foreign investment of up to 74%, it eventually wants to stake its investment uptil there and has sought an enabling approval from FIPB.
Unlike the incumbent telecom operators who either have the circle heads or the regional heads, the company plans to decentralise its operations. ?We currently have strength of over 650 employees in our organisation and we are adding over 200 each month. By the time we launch our operations we should be around 1,700 plus in employee strength?, Thulin added. ?We would like to have a cultural mix in our employees. We are recruiting from diverse backgrounds and not just the telecom sector?, she added. The company has put in place its top management, which is mix of expats and Indians. The company?s nominated managing director, Stein-Erik Vellan and the nominated CFO, Johan Lindgren are currently awaiting security clearance from the ministry of home affairs. Rajeev Bawa is heading the corporate affairs, David Meneghello is the chief marketing officer and Rohit Chandra is the chief operating officer.
Commenting upon the viability of entering the Indian market in the already crowded telecom market, Bawa said the company realised that the market was competitive and the incumbent operators had an added advantage and that was why the company wasn?t investing in setting up towers across the country. ?We?ll just lease them out. We don?t have the luxury of time and funds are definitely not easy to come by but apart from that we have a very sharp and distinct business plan. When Telenor entered the Malaysian market, it was the sixth operator but today it is the number 2 operator in the Malaysian market?, he explained.