Telecom Cos having up to 35% share can merge

The Telecom Commission has decided to allow mergers between operators who make up less than 35 per cent of market revenue and share up to 25 per cent of airwaves in a service area, the government said on Tuesday.

Telecom secretary R Chandrashekhar said a decision was yet to be taken on mergers between service providers who comprise 35 per cent and the combined share above which it would not allow such mergers. He added that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) would be asked for guidelines.

“Recommendations with the cases of below 35 per cent market share (and) spectrum not exceeding 25 per cent of the total spectrum are cleared and above that we will be requesting Trai to suggest some guidelines for considering cases where the market share may be 35 per cent,” said Chandrashekhar.

Last month, Trai suggested that operators be stopped from merging only if their combined market share exceeded 60 per cent and recommended that it review mergers between carriers who between them hold between 35 per cent and 60 per cent of market turnover