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Report claims deal between Indian mobile operators to be finalised in June.
BSNL is in talks to share spectrum with rival Indian operator Bharti Airtel in four telecom circles, it emerged on Friday.
The Business Standard quoted BSNL chairman Anupam Shrivastava as saying the state-run telco is open to sharing spectrum with all players, but at the moment "preliminary discussions" are taking place with Bharti Airtel.
According to the report, the telcos aim to finalise a deal by June. The four telecom circles in question are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar, and Assam.
India gave the go-ahead to spectrum sharing in August 2015.
Under the rules, if one operator paid more for spectrum than the operator it aims to partner with, they will be required to equalise the value of the frequencies through the sharing agreement. The government also increases the annual spectrum usage charge by 0.5% on shared airwaves.
Operators are allowed to share spectrum for five years and have the option to extend agreements for a further five.
Meanwhile, BSNL is also keen to establish intra-circle roaming agreements with other operators. It is currently discussing a deal with Reliance Jio Infocomm that would enable BSNL to offer 4G services to its customers, Shrivastava said, in the report.
BSNL is also exploring roaming partnerships with Aircel, Airtel, and Telenor.
