On Friday, Telecommunications company Bharti Airtel declared its spectrum trading agreement closure with Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) to convey the ‘Right to Use’ of Airtel’s 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio.
Airtel announced that the company had obtained ₹1,004.8 crores (net of tax) from Jio for the proposed transfer. Additionally, Jio will estimate its future liabilities of Rs. 469.3 crores associated with the spectrum, it stated in the exchange filing.
In April, Airtel had declared a spectrum trading agreement with Reliance Jio. The company inked a deal with Reliance Industries' telecom subsidiary Jio to transfer the ‘Right to Use’ of Airtel’s 800 MHz spectrum in Andhra Pradesh (3.75 MHz), Delhi (1.25 MHz), and Mumbai (2.50 MHz) to Jio. The agreement was dealt with subject to statutory approval.
Sunil Mittal-led telco had published in a release on April 6, “Through this agreement, Airtel will receive a consideration of ₹1037.6 crores from Jio for the proposed transfer. In addition, Jio will assume future liabilities of ₹459 crores relating to the spectrum''.
“The sale of the 800 MHz blocks in these three circles has enabled us to unlock value from the unutilized spectrum. This aligns with our overall network strategy,'' Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel stated in the statement.
