The department of telecommunications (DoT) has amended the merger and acquisition (M&A) guidelines, 2014, allowing telcos to sell excess spectrum post-merger.
In a fresh notification, DoT has said, “If, as a result of merger, the total spectrum held by the resultant entity is beyond the limits prescribed, the excess spectrum must be surrendered or traded within one year of the permission being granted.”
The amendments have come into force with immediate effect.
After the merger is sanctioned by the tribunal/company judge, the licensor (DoT) will provide its written approval within 30 days of receipt of request for approval to the transfer/merger of licences/authorisations under unified licence, the notification added.
In January this year, DoT accepted Trai’s recommendation on the overall cap on spectrum holdings raising it from the previous 25% to 35%. It also removed the ceiling on spectrum held by mobile operators within a particular band and allowed an operator to hold 50% of the combined radiowaves in sub-1GHz bands like 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz.
Source: Financial Express