Bharti Airtel has sought approval of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to merge its broadband wireless access services in four circles with its mobile operations.
The company intends to merge the internet service provider license of Airtel Broadband Services, along with the corresponding broadband wireless access spectrum, with the USAL permits in four circles -- Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana, and Kerala.
Airtel Broadband Services, formerly known as Wireless Business Services, was a unit of CDMA chipmaker Qualcomm, and was fully acquired by Bharti Airtel in 2013. Post acquisition, Airtel had permits to operate broadband wireless access services in a total of eight service areas including the circles of Punjab, Maharashtra, Kolkata and Karnataka that it had bought in the 2010 auctions.