DoT has reportedly raised objection to Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of Loop Mobile. The telecom department is of the view that the current structure of the deal will result in a revenue loss to the exchequer and violate the mobile number portability (MNP) norms. Airtel had signed an agreement to acquire Loop Mobile in June 2014, subject to regulatory approvals.

Earlier, DoT had sought legal opinion on the deal and was informed that it may be approved as long as the telecom licences do not prohibit slump sale. However, the access service wing of DoT has stated that deal should not be approved despite there being no prohibition of slump sale in the licence agreement.

Further, as per the MNP norms, the government receives a 1 per cent of Rs 19 paid by the subscriber opting for the porting facility as fees. With direct transfer of Loop’s customers to Airtel, the government would lose out on the revenues that would be earned if instead the customers were ported to Airtel’s network. Earlier, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had also stated that involuntary porting of subscribers will be against the provisions in the MNP norms.