In a bid to make the best of a unified regime, Bharti Tele-Ventures is planning to offer basic telephony services through its cellular licence and surrender its five fixed-line telephone licences.

The move would enable Bharti to offer integrated fixed-line, WLL and cellular services across its 16 circles, catapulting it back into the top league -- without having to pay any additional fee.

Badri Agarwal, president, Bharti Infotel, told Business Standard, "A cellular licence is a unified licence. We can offer both cellular and basic services on this licence. We will not have to pay any additional entry fee since we have 16 cellular licences, which automatically gets converted into a unified one."

Agarwal, who heads Bharti's non-mobile business, said it made no sense for the company to hold on to its existing basic licences or migrate into a unified one by paying close to Rs 450 crore (Rs 4.50 billion), when it already had a unified licence for 16 circles.

"Wherever required, we would also use the code division multiple access technology to offer WLL services in the last mile, like we are doing in Madhya Pradesh," he said. Apart from giving Bharti a nationwide footprint in the basic telephony market, the move will also absolve the company from its existing village telephony obligations.

As per the recommendations of the telecom regulator on unified licence, basic operators migrating into a unified licence would not have to fulfill their rural telephone obligations. If Bharti surrenders its existing basic licence, it will not have to fulfill the rural obligations even as it continues with its business through the cellular licence.

The company was also hoping to get back the Rs 145 crore (Rs 1.45 billion) it paid for picking up five basic licences. However, department of telecom officials have ruled out any refund.

"We are in discussion with the government on surrendering our basic licences. Its common logic that no company would like to hold two unified licences in the same circles," Badri said.

Bharti, along with other cellular operators, was considered as the biggest loser in the post-unification regime since it allowed Reliance Infocomm to convert its limited mobility services into full mobile services.

However, Reliance would have to pay nearly Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) in addition to Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) paid earlier for migrating into the new regime. With the proposed move, Bharti would be able to take on Reliance in 16 circles not just in the mobile market but also in the basic telephony market.