Etisalat to turn off operations in India March 31

Etisalat has confirmed it will cease operations in India on March 31 as it commits to exiting the market. The company said last month it would close its Etisalat DB network following the Indian Supreme Court decision to cancel 122 2G spectrum licences.

In a statement on the website of Cheers Mobile, the brand used for Etisalat DB’s services in the country, it said that “customers are encouraged to ‘port out’ their Cheers number to a network of their choice as soon as possible.”

Etisalat holds around 45 per cent of Etisalat DB (formerly Swan Telecom), for which it paid US$900 million in 2008, with partner Majestic Infracon owning a similar-sized stake. The unit holds 15 of the licences that were cancelled by the regulators, having been issued through a much-criticised licensing process in 2008.

2G licences were cancelled after it was argued that the concessions issued in 2008 were done so without a proper competitive process and deemed to have been allocated unfairly. The Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India last week released a consultation paper on plans to conduct an auction for the 2G spectrum to allocate it on a fairer basis.