Wireless Federation

Etisalat (UAE’s Leading Telecom Operator) seems to be in its final stage to sign a deal with Sawan telcom, acquiring 40% stake in the firm. Etisalat has been looking for an Indian partner and was in talks with telcos including Spice Communication and Videocon-backed Datacom. Swan telcom persistently hitting the headlines for its association with Anil Ambani group company RCOM, which was said to hold 9.9 per cent stake in it at the time of applying for licence last year.
According to RCOM officials, the company does not hold stake in Swan telecom anymore. Swan Telecom had obtained licence for launching operations in 13 circles. Etisalat is operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa has a presence in India, through its data services subsidiary Technologia in Bangalore.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Idea Cellular, India, has announced it may consider surrendering existing wireless licenses, should it encounter regulatory hurdles in its acquisition of a 40.8% stake in Spice Communications. Following the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stating it would review the acquisition, Idea is understood to have written to the regulator regarding its universal access service licenses (UASL) for the Punjab and Karnataka regions, where Spice already operates.

DoT guidelines currently restrict operators which hold licences for the same region from merging for a period of three years from the date a licence is granted. Idea is understood to have asked for the licence fee charged by the DoT to be returned, should the regulator decide that it must give up its licenses. Spice may also consider its new UASL licenses for the Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra circles, as Idea has a presence in these regions. The DoT has not announced a date for its ruling on the matter.