Loop Mobile Explained

Loop Mobile India Ltd
Type:Private
Industry:Telecommunication
Fate:Ceased operations after expiration of licence
Former Name:BPL Mobile Communications
Hq Location:Mahim
Hq Location City:Mumbai, Maharashtra
Hq Location Country:India
Key People:IP Khaitan (Shareholder)Nalin Khaitan (Director)Sandip Basu (CEO)
Services:Mobile telephony
Profit:-->
Profit Year:-->
Owners:-->

Loop Mobile India Ltd, formerly BPL Mobile Communications, was an Indian mobile network operator.

History

BPL Mobile Communications, established in 1994, was India's first mobile network operator. It began commercial operations in 1995. The Khaitan Holdings Group purchased a 99% stake in the company at a cost of in 2005.[1] BPL Mobile was renamed to Loop Mobile in March 2009. Having consistently met and exceeded Telecom Regulatory Authority of India benchmarks, Loop Mobile was certified in 2009, in accordance with the TUV NORD CERT auditing and certification procedures.

On 18 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it was acquiring Loop Mobile for, prior to that, a Chennai-based Information Technology Company, Zeesta IT Services MD Hemanth Raj, evaluated to acquire, however the deal did not materialize.[2] The two companies had been in talks since mid-2013.[3] Loop Mobile's 20-year licence in the 900 MHz band was due to expire in the last quarter of 2014, and the company did not participate in the 2014 spectrum auction.[4] However, on 5 November 2014, Bharti announced that it was dropping plans to acquire Loop Mobile, after the former failed to gain regulatory approval from the Department of for the acquisition.[5] [6]

The acquisition would have increased Airtel's total customer base in Mumbai to more than 7 million customers[2] and increased the size of their network to 6,500 cell sites.[1] Airtel also would have acquired electronic equipment, optic fibre and the 8 megahertz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band held by Loop in Mumbai.[7] However, Airtel had no plans to acquire Loop Mobile's 550 employees.[8]

The announcement of the acquisition had prompted most Loop Mobile subscribers to switch mobile operators, and the operator had approximately 1 million customers by the first week of November 2014, down from 3 million subscribers when the deal was first announced in February 2014. Loop Mobile's licence to operate mobile services in Mumbai expired on 29 November 2014, bringing an end to its operations.[5] [6]

Controversy

See main article: 2G spectrum case. Loop Telecom was probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation for alleged violation of foreign exchange laws, in the amount of, in connection with the 2G spectrum case.[9] [10] The promoters of Loop telecom were acquitted in December 2017 by the special court investigating the matter, which ruled that the prosecution "has miserably failed to prove any charge against any of the accused. Consequently, all the accused are entitled to be acquitted."[11]

On 18 August 2011, Loop mobile, along with Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Vodafone, was issued notices by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for violation of mobile number portability regulations. According to TRAI, they had received complaints from customers regarding improper rejection of porting requests by telecom operators and also being charged for messages requesting the porting code through number 1900.[12] In April 2012 Loop Mobile announced its intention to shut down operations across India except Mumbai with effect from 15 May 2012.[13] The move is expected to impact 6,100 customers, however, the figure is much less than 0.01% of the number of mobile phone users in India.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Shishir Asthana . 18 February 2014 . Loop acquisition is a win-win deal for Airtel . Business Standard . live . 2014-02-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190508032253/https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/loop-acquisition-is-a-win-win-deal-for-airtel-114021800723_1.html . 2019-05-08.
  2. News: 2014-01-10 . India's Bharti agrees to buy smaller telecoms carrier Loop's operations . Reuters . dead . 2014-02-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160630120903/http://in.reuters.com/article/loop-bharti-deal-idINL3N0LN1I120140218 . 2016-06-30.
  3. News: 2013-09-02 . Bharti Airtel emerges as frontrunner to acquire Loop Mobile . The Times of India . live . 2014-02-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112011316/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech-news/Bharti-Airtel-emerges-as-frontrunner-to-acquire-Loop-Mobile/articleshow/22221864.cms . 2020-11-12.
  4. Web site: 17 February 2014 . Bharti set to take over Loop in Rs 700-crore deal . 2014-02-19 . The Times of India.
  5. News: 6 November 2014 . Bharti calls off Rs 700-cr deal to buy Loop Mobile . Business Standard India . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210929114432/https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/bharti-calls-off-rs-700-cr-deal-to-buy-loop-mobile-114110600045_1.html . 2021-09-29.
  6. Web site: 5 November 2014 . Bharti Airtel scraps Loop Mobile merger deal . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210929132524/https://www.livemint.com/Companies/RDMdCDjHO2wluCzuYWT2bN/Bharti-Airtel-pulls-out-of-deal-says-Loop-Mobile.html . 2021-09-29.
  7. Web site: Bharti To Buy Loop Mobile in Rs 700-cr Deal: Reports . Businessworld.in . 17 February 2014 . 2014-02-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140224150757/http://www.businessworld.in/news/business/telecom/bharti-to-buy-loop-mobile-in-rs-700-cr-deal-reports/1258074/page-1.html . 24 February 2014 . dead .
  8. News: Rajesh Kurup . 18 February 2014 . Uncertainty looms over Loop Mobile employees . Business Line . live . 19 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211003174653/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/post-acquisition-by-airtel-loop-mobile-employees-future-hazy/article23158666.ece . 2021-10-03.
  9. News: 18 August 2011 . Loop fined Rs 384 crore . Indian Express . live . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211003153018/https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/loop-telecom-fined-rs-384-crore/ . 2021-10-03.
  10. News: Loop Telecom, Loop Mobile on ED radar in 2G scam. 18 August 2011. Business Today. 18 August 2011.
  11. News: Kumar . Nirnimesh . 2017-12-21 . Ruias, Khaitans too acquitted . en-IN . The Hindu . live . 2020-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220701025239/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ruias-khaitans-too-acquitted/article22176380.ece . 2022-07-01 . 0971-751X.
  12. News: 18 August 2011 . TRAI issues notices to operators for violating norms . . dead . 19 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150921072805/http://gadgets.ndtv.com/telecom/news/trai-issues-notices-to-operators-for-violating-norms-225537 . 2015-09-21.
  13. News: 10 April 2012 . India's Loop Telecom latest casualty of 2G scam . . live . 10 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210927073157/https://www.reuters.com/article/india-telecom-loop-idUSL3E8FA1IF20120410 . 2021-09-27.
  14. News: Loop telecom to shut operations outside Mumbai. 10 April 2012. The Economic Times. 10 April 2012. Mumbai. ET Bureau.