Airtel pays off spectrum liabilities of 2014 auction
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said its spectrum liabilities acquired in the 2014 auction have been paid to the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Airtel had to pay Rs 15,519 crore to the government. Airtel said in a statement that the company had acquired 128.4 MHz spectrum (including Telenor spectrum) in the 2014 auction for Rs 19,051 crore. Which has been paid in advance by the company.
Advance payment expected to save Rs 3,400 crore interest
This payment related to spectrum is related to the annual settlement of 2026-27 to 2031-32 and interest of 10 percent is also applicable on it. Airtel estimates that the advance payment to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will result in interest cost savings of at least Rs 3,400 crore for the company. Airtel said in a statement that it has prepaid Rs 15,519 crore to meet all liabilities for spectrum it received in 2014. These liabilities were to be paid in annual installments from the financial years 2026-2027 to 2031-2032.
Increase in the price of tariff plan
Airtel has recently changed its pre-paid tariff plan to raise capital from the market. Airtel has increased the price of its plan by up to 25 percent. After Airtel, the price of the tariff plan has also been increased by Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio. Airtel believed that the company was suffering due to non-increasing the price of the tariff plan. Also, funds are needed for 5G infrastructure and other projects. In such a situation, the company had to increase the prices of its tariff plans.
