amalgamation of companies, issued by Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India in 2014 (“ DoT Merger Guidelines ”). As per the DoT Merger Guidelines, in case of merger or acquisition or amalgamation proposals that result in market share in any service area exceeding 50 percent, the resultant entity should reduce its market shares to 50 percent within a period of one year from the date of approval of merger or acquisition or amalgamation (“ Market Share Caps ”). As regards holding of spectrum by a TSP, the Commission noted that the spectrum holding in a licensed service area is subject to cap of 25 percent of the total spectrum assigned and 50 percent of the spectrum assigned in a specific band. (“ Spectrum Caps ”). The Parties have submitted that they will comply with the Spectrum Caps and the Market Share Caps. However, in this regard, the Commission observed that assessment of a proposed combination would need to be based, independently of such guidelines, on factors as contained in Section 20(4) of the Act.
