Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has paid ₹8,312.4 crore to the Department of Telecom towards dues for spectrum acquired in the recently concluded 5G auctions, the company said on Wednesday.
With the payment, Airtel has paid four years of 2022 spectrum dues upfront.
Airtel said it believed that this upfront payment, coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR (adjusted gross revenue)-related payments for four years, would free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G roll-out.
Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of ₹43,039.63 crore.
“This upfront payment of 4 years allows us to drive 5G roll-out in a concerted manner given our operating free cash flow. Airtel also has access to ₹15,740.5 crore in capital from the rights issue, which is yet to be called.
“With the ideal spectrum bank, best technology and adequate free cash flow, we are excited to bring to the country a world-class 5G experience,” Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said in a statement.
The company had an option to pay ₹3,848.88 crore upfront and the rest in 19 annual instalments.
The country’s biggest ever auction of telecom spectrum received a record ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of bids, with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio cornering nearly half of all the airwaves sold with ₹87,946.93 crore bid.
Over the last one year, Airtel said it had also cleared ₹24,333.7 crore of its deferred spectrum liabilities much ahead of scheduled maturities.
