Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, complimented the government for releasing the 5G spectrum allocation letter as well as E-band airwaves within hours of Airtel NSE 1.43% making its initial payment for spectrum obtained in the recent 5G sale.
“Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 cr towards spectrum dues and was provided the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours…E band allocation was given along with spectrum as promised…in my over 30 years of first-hand experience with DoT, this is a first, business as it should be, leadership at work-right at the top and at the helm of telecom,” Mittal said in a statement.
The Bharti chairman went on to say that this was the epitome of ease of doing business at work. “No fuss, no follow up, no running around the corridors and no tall claims. What a change ! Change that can transform this nation – power its dreams to be a developed nation.”
Only Airtel has elected to pay a higher upfront fee, while the remaining three companies – Reliance NSE -0.48% Jio, Vodafone Idea NSE 0.00%, and Adani Data Networks – have chosen to pay in 20 equal annual instalments.
Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 crore to the telecom department on Wednesday, settling instalments for four years in advance, while Jio paid Rs 7,864 crore. Adani Data Networks, a new entrant, also elected to pay in 20 equal instalments, depositing Rs 18.94 crore as the first instalment, whereas Vi paid Rs 1,680 crore as the first instalment.
Last month, the Department of Transportation agreed to assign E-band airwaves exclusively to mobile operators through the administrative route in circles where they would hold 5G spectrum for the latter’s backhaul needs.