Bharti Airtel's plan to acquire Tata Tele users may face Trai hurdle

Regulator objects to direct transfer route, says customers must have choice of any other operator when existing one shuts down or merges

Over the coming weeks, over 4 crore Tata Teleservices customers will be automatically shifted to the Airtel network under an intra-circle roaming (ICR) arrangement, according to the two companies. However, Telecom regulator Trai is looking to raise objections to the transition.

According to Bharti Airtel, the first batch of the transition was being effected in UP (West), Bihar, and West Bengal.

"Over the coming weeks, all consumer mobile customers of Tata Teleservices across all circles will gradually transition to the Airtel network," the company said in a statement last week.

Airtel and Tata Group had recently announced that the Consumer