Bharti Airtel has submitted its final application to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for acquiring new telecom licences under the unified licensing regime for the Delhi and Kolkata circles.

The operator’s licences in the two circles are coming up for renewal in November 2014. In order to continue providing services in the two circles, the operator would require a unified licence. Further, the acquisition of unified licence will enable Bharti Airtel to offer technology neutral services in Delhi and Kolkata.

Earlier, the operator participated in the spectrum auction in February 2014 and acquired spectrum worth Rs 87.21 billion in the two circles.

Once Bharti Airtel acquires unified licence in the two circles, Vodafone India will have to sell its 4.4 per cent indirect stake in Bharti Airtel, since the unified licencing norms bar a telecom operator from holding any stake in a competitor operator. Vodafone India will have to divest its stake by November 2015.