Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it has entered into an agreement with Reliance Jio Infocomm to transfer ‘Right to Use’ for some of its 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to the Mukesh Ambani-led firm.
Following this agreement, Bharti Airtel will receive a consideration of ₹1,037.6 crores from Reliance Jio for the proposed transfer. In addition, Reliance Jio will assume future liabilities of ₹459 crores relating to the spectrum, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
“The sale of the 800 MHz blocks in these three circles has enabled us to unlock value from spectrum that was unutilised. This is aligned to our overall network strategy,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said.
As per the agreement, which is subject to statutory approvals, Reliance Jio will acquire right to use spectrum in the 800MHz band in Andhra Pradesh (3.75 MHz), Delhi (1.25 MHz) and Mumbai (2.50 MHz) circles through spectrum trading.
In a separate statement, Reliance Jio said it will now have 2X15MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band in Mumbai circle and 2X10MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi circles, thereby further consolidating its spectrum footprint in these circles.
“The trading agreement is in accordance with the Spectrum Trading Guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications and is subject to the requisite regulatory and statutory approvals. The aggregate value for the right to use this spectrum is ₹1,497 crores, inclusive of present value of associated deferred payment liability of ₹459 crores, subject to any transaction related adjustments,” Reliance Jio added.
Reliance Jio was the biggest bidder in the recently held spectrum auction by the Department of Telecom, acquiring 488.35 MHz of spectrum for ₹57,122.65 crore. Majority of auction payout by Reliance Jio will be for the spectrum in the 800 MHz band (Rs 34,491 crore). Reliance Jio was followed by Bharti Airtel which bid for 355.45 MHz of spectrum for ₹18,698.75 crore.
