Idea seeks clarity from DoT on demerged licence transfer

A BIGGER PIE: Idea Cellular has a 41 per cent stake in Spice Communication.

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Keywords: Department Of Telecommunication, Merger

New Delhi: According to sources at the Department of Telecommunication, Idea Cellular, a part of Aditya Birla Group, on Friday wrote to it seeking clarity on transfer of demerged licence to other promoters.

Idea Cellular had acquired 41 per cent stake in the BK Modi-owned Spice Communication in the beginning of July.

Idea Cellular believes that its merger with Spice appears permissible even in overlapping service areas as per the 'Intent of Policy' guidelines.

The merger of Idea Cellular and Spice Communication had come under DoT scrutiny as the two companies had separate operating licenses.

DoT sources have also revealed that the licence fee of about Rs 350 crore will have to be paid for two overlapping service.

With the telecom space battling it out for spectrum allocation, Vodafone's outgoing CEO Arun Sarin says that auctioning is a good alternative.

"Auction is a good way to allocate spectrum. And if the government can make money through this then they should," Sarin said.