In a joint statement by Tata Teleservices and Bharti Airtel, both the companies have announced that the consumer mobile business of Tata Teleservices has now become part of India’s one of the largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel.
The companies have announced that the merger of the Consumer Mobile Businesses of Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) into Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom (Airtel) have become effective from July 1, 2019.
This means that from July 1, the Sunil Mittal promoted network carrier will begin using Tata Teleservices’ airwaves after the telecom tribunal passed an order allowing it to do so. Telecom tribunal TDSAT had ordered the Department of Telecom to take on record the merger and approval of the schemes of arrangement by Delhi and Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal.
In a statement, the companies said: “Consequently, all customers, assets, spectrum and agreed liabilities of the Consumer Mobile Businesses of TTSL and TTML now stand merged with Airtel.”
As part of the merger, Airtel will absorb Tata Teleservices’ CMB operations in 19 telecom circles — 17 under TTSL and 2 under Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra). It also agreed to take over a small portion of the unpaid spectrum liability of Tata Teleservices.
The merger will now bolster Airtel’s spectrum pool with significant additional 178.5 MHz spectrum in 1800, 2100 and 850 MHz bands, which are widely used for 4G. It also includes the transfer of all the customers and assets of Tata Teleservices CMB to Airtel.
But, as per the reports, the merger is still to receive formal approval from the telecom department, which is contemplating to challenge the TDSAT order in the Supreme Court.
