Unitech Wireless Ltd. is on track to launch its mobile telephony services

Unitech Wireless Ltd. is on track to launch its mobile telephony services by the end of December and plans to cover 60% of India in the first year of operations, Chief Executive Stein-Erik Vellan said.

Unitech Wireless -- an unlisted joint venture between Indian real estate company Unitech Ltd. and Norway's Telenor Group -- has licenses to offer mobile telephony services in all of India's 22 telecom service areas.

Telenor is currently awaiting a decision by a federal Cabinet panel to raise its stake in Unitech Wireless to 67.2% from 49%, Mr. Vellan told Dow Jones Newswires over the phone late Wednesday.

The joint venture, which has branded its services as Uninor, will outsource more of its network installation and operations, Mr. Vellan said, without elaborating.

Indian telecom companies usually outsource their network equipment installation and maintenance to reduce costs and to focus more on adding customers in the world's fastest growing telecom market.

Earlier this year, Unitech Wireless outsourced its information technology operations to Wipro Ltd. It has also given contracts worth $400 million for its telecom network equipment to Alcatel-Lucent India Ltd. and the Indian unit of Huawei Technologies Co. On the upcoming auctions for the third generation, or 3G, radio bandwidth, Mr. Vellan said the company hasn't taken a decision on whether to bid for pan-India spectrum or for specific service areas.

"We are currently reviewing our strategy and will take it to the board soon, and then will know what sort of plans we will make in regards to the upcoming 3G auction," Mr. Vellan added.

Earlier this week, the Economic Times quoted Hilde Tonne, Telenor's executive vice president, as saying that Unitech Wireless isn't planning to bid for a pan-India 3G license, but may bid only for some specific circles. The company will focus mainly on expanding its second generation mobile services, the report said.

The Indian government plans to auction four pan-India slots of radio bandwidth for 3G services in December and has set a starting price of 35 billion rupees ( $732 million) for one such slot.