Two telecom giant
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have signed a definitive agreement on Tuesday where the
Reliance Industries-backed company will acquire the 'Rights to Use' Airtel's spectrum in the 800MHz band in three circles namely n Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai through spectrum trading.
The agreement is subject to statutory approvals.
On the sale of the 800 MHz spectrum in 3 circles, Airtel will receive a consideration of Rs 1037.6 crores from Jio for the proposed transfer. Additionally, Jio will assume future liabilities of Rs459cr relating to the spectrum.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, "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."
RIL in its regulatory filing said that with this trading of right to use spectrum, RJIL 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.
"With the enhanced spectrum footprint, especially contiguous spectrum, and superior infrastructure deployed, RJIL has further increased its network capacity," RIL added.
The trading agreement is following the Spectrum Trading Guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications.