RCom shares tumbled as much as 5 per cent in Wednesday's trade as the company has decided to shut down its 2G mobile operations from the end of this year. This follows its failed attempt to merge its wireless business with Aircel.
With this move, RCom subscribers will be given the option to migrate to 3G or 4G devices or port out to other operators.
The telecom company shares opened the session marginally down at Rs 16.85 against the previous close of Rs 17, touched an intraday high of Rs 17.10 and a low of Rs 16.15 on the BSE.
The company shares ended the session down by 3.24 per cent at Rs 16.45 on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock closed lower by 2.36 per cent at Rs 16.55.
Reliance Communications, which called off its merger with Aircel citing regulatory issues, has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking withdrawal of the merger scheme.
“Pursuant to the same, application for withdrawal of the said merger scheme has been filed with NCLT on October 3. Furthermore, as a consequence, the application for the withdrawal of the scheme of the demerger of the tower business under Reliance Infratel Ltd (RITL) has also been concurrently filed,” the company had said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel had called off talks to merge their mobile operations due to regulatory and legal hurdles. This casts doubts over the operators’ future as the merger was seen as vital for their survival in the competitive telecom sector.
“Legal and regulatory uncertainties, and various interventions by vested interests, have caused inordinate delays in receipt of relevant approvals for the proposed transaction,” an RCom statement had said.