Bharti Airtel has said that the guidelines for merger and acquisitions (M&A) should be liberal to facilitate consolidation in the telecom sector.
The company stated, “In order to facilitate consolidation, we recommend that the M&A guidelines should be liberal, forward looking, equitable and non-discriminatory.?
The company?s comments are part of its views on the Draft National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2011 sent to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Regarding the allocation of 2G spectrum, the company said that the entity holding the spectrum should have the right of first refusal upon expiry of spectrum rights.
“In case, the entity decides not to exercise their options to renew, the spectrum should be auctioned again in a fair and transparent manner wherein the entity who did not exercise its option, is also allowed to participate,” the company added.
Further, Bharti Airtel noted that spectrum usage charges should be set to a flat rate to ensure transparency, predictability and a level playing field.
