Reliance Jio and Airtel Conclude Spectrum Trading Agreement, Airtel Receives Rs. 1004.8 Crores for Proposed Transfer

Bharti Airtel announced the closure of its agreement with Reliance Jio to transfer the ‘Right to Use’ of Airtel’s 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio. Reliance Jio had recently entered into a definitive agreement with Airtel for the acquisition of the right to use spectrum in the 800MHz band in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai circles through spectrum trading. Airtel has received Rs 1004.8 crores (net of tax) from Jio for the proposed transfer. In addition, Jio will assume future liabilities of Rs. 469.3 crores relating to the spectrum.

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 Rs 1,497 crores, inclusive of the present value of associated deferred payment liability of Rs 459 crores, subject to any transaction-related adjustments.

Circle wise details of the traded spectrum are provided in the following table:

With this trading of right to use spectrum, Reliance Jio will 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. Reliance Jio says that it has enhanced its network capacity with the enhanced spectrum footprint, especially contiguous spectrum, and the superior infrastructure deployed.