Norway Minister conveys concern over 2G licence cancellation

Initiating dialogue at diplomatic level post cancellation of Uninor’s 2G licences, Norway’s IT Minister Rigmor Aasrud on Tuesday met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and discussed way forward while raising concern over its investments in Indian operations.

Uninor, a joint venture between Norway’s Telenor and Indian realty player Unitech with Norwegian firm holding over 67 per cent stake, offers services under Uninor brand across the country. The Norway government, in turn, holds majority stake in Telenor.

“We had good, fruitful and constructive meeting with telecom minister. We took up Telenor’s case along with other issues,” Ms. Aasrud told reporters after the meeting. Telenor claims to have invested over Rs. 14,000 crore in Indian operations to pick up stake in Uninor and roll out services across several circles.

Uninor has already said that it would file a review petition in the Supreme Court and also take up the matter with the government to secure its investments here.

“We are talking to the government because we need to protect our investment and we also need to make sure that there is a framework for continuing our operations and this is what all our discussions are all about,” Uninor Managing Director and Telenor’s Asia head Sigve Brekke said.

The company has said that it would wait for new rules on spectrum auction before taking a call to participate in it.

- Asian Tribune -

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