The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued demand notices to telecom operators Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea, instructing them to pay for the spectrum acquired in the recent auctions.
The telecom operators have until July 26 to make their payments, either in 20 equal yearly installments or by settling the amount in one lump sum. They also have the option to make a partial upfront payment, which must cover a minimum of two years and be a multiple of complete years.
In the June spectrum auction, the government sold 141 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 11,340.8 crore. Of the 10,523 MHz of spectrum available for sale, only 1.3% was sold. Bharti Airtel acquired the most airwaves, spending Rs 6,857 crore to buy a total of 97 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz bands.
Contrary to expectations, Reliance Jio, which had the highest earnest money deposit, ended up in third place behind Vodafone Idea. Jio spent Rs 973 crore to acquire just 14.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, while Vodafone Idea purchased 30 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 3,510 crore.
If telecom operators opt for the 20-year installment period, Airtel’s yearly payment will be Rs 674.18 crore. Vodafone Idea will pay Rs 345.15 crore annually, and Jio will have yearly expenses of around Rs 96 crore, according to the demand notices sent by the DoT. Telecom operators are also required to pay the applicable GST on these demands.
In 2022, the government raised Rs 1.5 trillion from the 5G spectrum auctions. This year’s sale was more subdued, as telecom operators had already made significant investments in the previous auction for rolling out 5G networks.
