Govt should make more spectrum available as industry needs: Mittal

The company has scrapped deal with Loop mobile as it failed to get approval from DoT

Bharti group Chairman Sunil Mittal, on Thursday, said the telecom industry wants more spectrum and the government should make it available.

"We want from the government more spectrum. Every country has the same amount of spectrum and it is not that India has less... It needs to be vacated from other places, that is what other countries have also done," Mittal said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here.

"I would say government should make available enough spectrum so that there is a balance between spectrum pricing," said Mittal, adding that the auction in February should not be deffered but the Government should make more spectrum available for commercial use as the industry wants.

Commenting on Bharti Airtel's decision to call off the Rs 700-crore deal to acquire business and assets of Loop Mobile, Mittal said much is being read into this.

"Loop mobile is a small issue and I don't know why this is being made into such a big issue. Most of the Loop subscribers have ported to us. It was a small deal, which was basically an experiment for the first time to acquire customers. Its not about the merger but about the renewal of the agreement," he added.

Bharti Airtel has scrapped the deal on Wednesday as the proposed deal failed to get approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), while the strategic agreement between the two companies - Bharti Airtel and Loop Mobile - has expired.