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The Idea-Vodafone merger, which is going to result in the largest operator in the country, is in the final stage of approval, a top official at Department of Telecom, said.
“The Idea-Vodafone merger is also in the final stages of approval because they have got the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) approval. They have got the Sebi clearances, but there are some FDI approvals that are involved …there are liberalisation of licence…so there are a number of clearances,” Aruna Sundararjan, Secretary, DoT, told reporters here.
5G launch
Speaking on the sidelines of Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) event on catalysing 5G launch in the country, she said, “It’s not a one step clearance, there are a number of clearances. So we are in the process of expediting that.”
Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, the second and the third largest operators in the country, recently announced the new leadership team of the merged entity that will have Kumar Mangalam Birla at the helm as the non-executive Chairman.
The two companies last week announced the top deck for the soon-to-be-merged company, naming Balesh Sharma as the new Chief Executive Officer.
This new entity is going to downgrade the market leader Bharti Airtel, which was imminent because of the ‘bloodbath’ in the telecom sector right now after the aggressive tariffs of the newcomer Reliance Jio.
The merged entity is projected to be worth over $23 billion with a 35 per cent market share.
On telecom policy
When asked about the new Telecom Policy (2018), she said the DoT was in final stages for that too. “I cannot give a specific date, but we’re in the final stages of drafting the policy before we take it to the Telecom Commission. After that it will go to the government,” she added.
Meanwhile, the COAI event brought together international experts on 5G face-to-face with government, mobile network operators and other industry stakeholders and gave them an informal platform to discuss crucial issues regarding the new technology and its uses.
COAI recently launched the 5G India Forum also, consisting of industry stakeholders. This forum will facilitate cooperation between government and industry in shaping the strategic, commercial, and regulatory development of the 5G ecosystem.
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