Company Press Release:
Game changed – Uninor launches ‘dynamic
pricing’
Uninor is the
first mobile operator to launch the concept in India.
Discounts on a call can change from 5% to 60% by simply crossing a street.
At 60% discount, you can call for as low as 20 paisa and never more than 50
paisa.
Mumbai, April 30, 2010. Within weeks of launching its service in India, Uninor has introduced a radically new concept of ‘dynamic pricing’ that is likely to set a new trend in the pricing of mobile services in India. Branded as ‘24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP)’, it will offer customers changing discounts on their calls based on traffic on the network. The discounts will change with location and with time, with each cellphone tower broadcasting a different discount. At the same location, the discount will change on an hourly basis. By putting customers in control of costs, with 24X7 changing discount rates, this could very well change the tariff structure in Indian telecom.
Under the ‘24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP)’, customers will be able to avail a discount on their calls that ranges from 5% to as much as 60%, depending on their location and time at which they call. This discount will be applicable on a standard base call rate of 50 paisa per minute for any local call, Uninor-to-Uninor or Uninor-to-any other operator. This means a 1-minute call could cost as low as 20 paisa and never more than 50 paisa.
The service is
being launched simultaneously in the three telecom circles of Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The plan can be activated by a customer by simply
walking up to the nearest a retail shop. The plan will be
subsequently extended to other circles where Uninor services are present.
“Customers first and then technology that makes it happen. We make a strong demonstration of this guiding principle with the launch of dynamic pricing,” said Stein-Erik Vellan, Managing Director, Uninor.
“With the
Dynamic Pricing concept, customers will get much more involved in the way
they use our service. It will make an otherwise routine activity exciting –
every single time a customer picks up a phone to make a call,” added Vellan.
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How does it work The discount available at any given time will be visible at all times on the screens of handsets that display cell broadcast. The discount visible on the screen at the time a customer calls will be the applicable discount for the call. When the call ends, a flash will appear on the phone screen indicating the actual discounted cost of the call. The dynamic discounts available at any given time will depend on network traffic and customers location at that time,
providing customers maximum flexibility to choose between convenience and savings.
“The
24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP) will not only help customers make
significant savings on their bills, but also empower them by placing
the power of tariffs in their hands. We will pass on our network
capacity savings to our customers. With customers using our service
more at locations and times that give best discounts, we will also
be able to utilize our capacity better. It is a perfect model and I
won’t be surprised if it soon becomes an industry practice.” said
Rohit Chandra, Executive Vice-President, Operations. Sophisticated technology that puts the customer in control Discounts are calculated by a sophisticated ‘Discount Engine’ that relies on state-of-the-art IT systems to continuously monitor traffic at every tower in the network. For customers, this could literally mean discounts changing from, say 5% to 60%, just by crossing a street, as customers move into the coverage of another tower. Over a longer period, this would mean considerable savings on phone bills.
Uninor was the first operator to launch with 100% outsourced tower infrastructure. The launch itself was the largest in terms of footprint in the world with the largest distribution by any operator on launch day. Bucking prevailing trends, the brand chose not to use superstar celebrities as ambassadors and did not follow the ‘1 paisa per second’ pricing norms. Instead, with the “24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP), Uninor has set an entirely new trend that is sure to become the new industry standard. “In a market this competitive, differentiation will be the key to success. We will do this by listening closely to our customers’ wishes and living our values of simplicity, respect, keeping promises and being inspiring. Our intent is long-term - to build Uninor as the preferred service in India,” added Vellan. |
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About Uninor
Uninor is joint venture between India’s second largest diversified real estate major Unitech Ltd. and the Norway based world’s 6th largest mobile services provider Telenor Group. The Telenor Group has invested INR 6135.63 crores through new shares in the joint venture to hold 67.25% stake in the company.
The company holds a pan-India UAS license to offer mobile telephony services in each of India’s 22 circles. It has also received spectrum to roll out these services in 21 of the 22 circles. At present, Uninor services are available in the eight circles of UP (West), UP (East), Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.