Sunil Mittal back in the fray?

It may be tough times for the Indian economy, but, the Indian telecom industry seems to be finally getting back on the growth track.

Currently, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is finalizing the M&A norms and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)is to come up with the base price for spectrum auctions later this fiscal. All this should be in place by mid-October.

Already, the first stirrings of M&A in the sector have begun in earnest. It is believed that Sunil Bharti Mittal led Bharti Airtel has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire Mumbai's Loop Mobile, that is owned by Kiran Khaitan and her husband IP Khaitan. Kiran happens to be the sister of Essar Group's Shashi and Ravi Ruia. The advantage that Loop Mobile offers is that it has 8MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz band. Bharti currently offers services in Mumbai on the 1800MHz band.

However, for the deal to fructify, the government has to come clean on the M&A norms. Loop's licence expires in end-2014. This is not the first time that Loop Mobile has been seeking a suitor. The companies that had sought to acquire it include Norway's Telenor, Malaysia's Maxis and Idea Cellular.

It is still early days for M&A to begin in the sector. But, the signs are all there. It will depend on how quickly DoT and TRAI can come up with their recommendations. It could well be the booster shot that the economy needs at this juncture.