Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao (pictured) tipped India for further rapid network expansion when the government increases spectrum caps in the country, The Economic Times reported.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Colao  said the proposed increase in the caps – which is still to be finalised – would benefit operators, industry and consumers.

India witnessed swift network deployment in the last two years, fuelling a boom in 4G subscribers from 8 million in September 2016 to 177 million by the end of 2017, GSMA Intelligence figures showed.

In November 2017, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) proposed changing rules stating operators can only hold a maximum of 50 per cent of spectrum in any given band in each of India’s service areas.

At the time, TRAI said the proposal was an attempt to ease consolidation in the telecoms sector. A change in the cap is likely to benefit the combined entity of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, should the two receive regulatory clearance to combine.

Merger
In comments made after his speech, Colao reportedly praised the “swift” approval process for M&A in the country, which contributed to the significant progress made towards its tie-up with Idea Cellular.

The merger is in the final stages of approval having already been cleared by the Competition Commission of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. It is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018, with April widely tipped as the date the combined entity will begin trading.

In early January, Idea Cellular revealed it was set to embark on a funding drive to increase the cash position of the merged company ahead of final approval.