A.E.A. Jameel, circle business head, Bihar and Jharkhand at Uninor believes that business success is not attained by chasing money but by taking pride in one’s work. This, he says, helps an individual achieve the best results. “It is pride that makes business an art. Therefore, we should incorporate the ingredients of earning, learning, fun and pride and make work a joyride,” he says.

 

The Bihar and Jharkhand circle offers tremendous potential for growth, he says, given its low teledensity, increasing mobile handset availability and improving socio-economic situation in both the state. “Uninor is focusing on strengthening its services by expanding its mobile and retail network – in both areas we currently cover and new territories within the circle.”

To carve a niche for itself in a hyper-competitive market, Uninor has played the price card, offering the “sabse sasta” tariff in the circle in different service categories. The strategy seems to be working. Jameel observes that Uninor is one of the fastest growing brands in the circle and has crossed the 4 million subscriber mark in just three years.

Despite encouraging growth, Uninor faces multiple challenges in the circle. According to Jameel, ensuring high service quality is the key to retaining customers in a dynamic market such as this. Since customers look for value in every purchase, it is important to win their mindshare by providing customised services. “The challenge is to maintain a disciplined and focused approach and deliver on promises,” says Jameel.

Jameel has over 20 years of experience having started his career in 1990 with Eureka Forbes. In the telecom space, aside from Uninor, he has worked with Aircel. Amongst his various assignments, he counts his stint at Uninor as the most memorable. The organisation and employees have undergone a transition since its licences were cancelled in some circles in 2012. Ever since, the employees have been working on a common goal to achieve break-even. The company is expected to turn profitable in the Bihar and Jharkhand circle in 2013. Jameel emphasises that since Uninor is a zero-debt company, it is in a position to make further investments and grow.