Batelco denies India rumours

Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) has denied speculation that it was considering resuming operations in India, saying that it would not participate in the upcoming 2G auction and had no plans on re-entering the market as an operator. TMT Finance quotes Batelco Group’s CEO Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa as saying: ‘We have stated that our M&A team, always keep a watching brief on all telecommunications markets which are expected to realise growth over the mid to long term. Logically, we review developments in the Indian market but we have no intention to be an operator. As noted by TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Batelco sold its stake in its Indian wireless unit STel in February 2012 after the Supreme Court cancelled the cellco’s operating licences.