Vodafone in Talks to Buy India's Tata Teleservices:

Vodafone India is reported to be in talks to buy a local rival, Tata Teleservices in a deal that could spark long expected consolidation in the market.

The Tata Group owns just under 60% of the mobile network, with the rest held by Japan's NTT DoCoMo. The Japanese company also holds a right of first refusal to buy the Tata's stake if it is put up for sale, but is itself generally thought to be looking to sell as well.

An unnamed source told the Economic Times that "Discussions are at an early stage. It is difficult at this stage to say what the outcome of these talks will be,"

The agreement between the Tata's and DoCoMo expires in March, and the company is generally expected to have missed minimum performance agreements. Under the circumstance's the Tata's could be required to either buy back the DoCoMo stake, or find an alternative owner for it.

A deal with Vodafone could see both companies extracting themselves from a poorly performing subsidiary, while Vodafone would be able to extract the usual cost savings and synergies to make the deal financially viable.

If the deal were to go ahead, the merged company would overtake Bharti Airtel to become the country's largest mobile network, with around 248 million subscribers.

Vodafone India contesting Matrix Cellular allegations over SIM renting case:

Telecom operator Vodafone has contested allegations levelled on it by international SIM card provider Matrix Cellular that the telecom major misrepresented facts in SIM renting case of 2007 in which Department of Telecom and Intelligence Bureau found various irregularities.

"The allegations made by Matrix are without merit and will be strongly contested, as appropriate," Vodafone India's spokesperson told PTI in response to e-mail query. In 2007, DoT had found involvement of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea in a case where the three had sold bulk connections to third parties who in turn were selling those SIM cards to retail subscribers and in the process flouted certain rules. The Department is also learnt to be in process of issuing fresh show cause notice to these companies.

DoT says it has found Vodafone and Matrix Cellular entered into one such agreement, but Vodafone, before the telecom tribunal TDSAT, had contested "that it had no knowledge of the purported activities of 'Matrix' so far as giving on rental the SIM cards issued to it is concerned."

Matrix has alleged that Vodafone misrepresented facts to DoT and TDSAT. "Matrix believes that Vodafone has misrepresented facts to the DoT and TDSAT. The business that Matrix engaged in was at all times legal and with the express, written consent of Vodafone", it had said last week.

FIPB defers meeting on Vodafone proposal to December 9:

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which was scheduled to meet on Friday to consider the Rs 10,141-crore proposal of Vodafone Plc to acquire the remaining stake in its Indian arm has postponed the meeting for December 9.

However, no reason was assigned for postponement of the meeting.

"...the 199th meeting of the FIPB which was scheduled to be held on Friday, the December 6, 2013... has been postponed and will now be held on Monday, the December 9, 2013...," the Finance Ministry said. The Vodafone proposal along with 10 other would now be taken up on Monday, it added.

CGP India Investments, an indirect Mauritian unit of Vodafone International Holdings BV, is seeking approval to buy the entire stake held by minority shareholders in Vodafone India.

The UK telecom giant at present holds a 64.38 per cent stake in the Indian unit.

Vodafone's minority investors include billionaire industrialist Ajay Piramal, who holds an 11 per cent stake in India's second-largest telecom company by subscribers. 

The remaining stake is with undisclosed shareholders. Analjit Singh, Vodafone India's non-executive chairman, is understood to be among them.

The proposal was earlier listed on the agenda of FIPB's meeting on November 13 but could not taken up for want of comments from various ministries.

Opinions were sought from the Department of Telecom, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Revenue.

Vodafone offers to pay Rs 4,000 cr for extension of licences:

Nation's second-largest telecom firm Vodafone India has offered to pay Rs 4,000 crore and a spectrum usage charge of 3 per cent for extension of permits for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas for 20 years.

At Rs 4,000 crore, Vodafone is offering about one fourth of TRAI's suggested price for the premium mobile airwaves.

Vodafone's three permits held for Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai are due to expire in the last quarter of 2014.

As per a decision taken by the government earlier, the company will have to buy spectrum afresh which it holds through these permits to continue operations.

The company has written a letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who also heads the Empowered Group of Ministers on Telecom, to accept telecom regulator TRAI's recommendation of levying annual spectrum fee of 3 per cent on all operators.

"Vodafone had made an offer of Rs 4,000 crores to DoT at 3 per cent SUC (spectrum usage charges) for extension of its existing licences for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas for 20 years," Vodafone said in its letter to the Minister.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in September recommended about 62 per cent reduction in the price of premium 900 Mhz spectrum band held by Vodafone and others.

As per the telecom regulator's suggestions, spectrum should be sold at a base price of Rs 650 crore per megahertz.

Vodafone, which holds 23.8 Mhz spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas, has to pay Rs 15,470 crore at TRAI's suggested base price to continue operations in the three metros.