The allotment will help the Aditya Birla Group firm to commence operations in the city, where it does not have operations at the moment.
According to sources close to the development, the ministry would allocate 5 Mhz of spectrum to Idea in Mumbai. The spectrum would be allocated under the 1,800 Mhz band and this will enable the company to support 1 million-1.5 million subscribers in the circle.
The spectrum would be allocated immediately on the availability of the radio frequency, they said. When contacted an Idea spokesperson declined to comment on the issue, stating that the company was yet to hear from the ministry.
Idea Cellular had applied for spectrum in 2006 to start services in Mumbai, but was not allocated due to its scarcity in the city. Idea Cellular managing director Sanjeev Aga had also written to the telecom minister requesting spectrum allocation.
According to an analyst, at present, there is no free spectrum available in the Mumbai circle, with the six service providers making optimum use of the existing spectrum. To provide further spectrum in the circle, either an operator or the defence ministry will have to vacate spectrum.
The company has also applied for spectrum in Bihar circle, and the ministry would look at providing the frequency. However, the bandwidth for Bihar operations could not be ascertained.
Idea is the fifth largest operator in the country. The company has licence to operate telecom services in 13 of the 23 circles in the country. On June 30 this year the company had over 16.1 million subscribers.
© 2025