The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its final approval to India’s largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel for acquiring telecom spectrum from Videocon and Aircel, which was announced last year. With this approval, Airtel now has the right to use Videocon’s spectrum in 1800 MHz band in six telecom circles. Similarly, the operator got the full right to use Aircel’s spectrum in 2300 MHz band in eight telecom circles.
In a typical India Government’s Digital India style, CCI announced the approval for both the deals through Twitter.
Last year, Airtel announced the acquisition of Videocon Telecom‘s spectrum in six telecom circles in a Rs 4,428 crore worth deal. Airtel will be acquiring Videocon Telecom’s 2×5 MHz radio frequency spectrum under the 1800 MHz Band. This deal allows Airtel to offer better 4G coverage in six telecom circles including Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West).
In the same way, Airtel also acquired rights to use the 4G spectrum of Aircel in eight telecom circles. The Rs 3,500 crore worth 4G spectrum deal covers Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, the North-East, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha telecom circles.