DoT receives Rs. 17,876 Crore as upfront payment for 5G Spectrum

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has received upfront payment of around Rs 17,876 crore from Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks and Vodafone Idea for spectrum.

While Reliance, Adani and Vi have opted to make payments in 20 annual installments, Bharti Airtel has already paid Rs 8,312.4 crore that is equivalent to four annual installments. The company had an option to pay Rs. 3,848.88 crore upfront and the rest in 19 annual installments.

Airtel said it believes that this upfront payment, coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR (adjusted gross revenue)-related payments for four years, will free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G rollout.

Reliance Jio has made payment of Rs. 7,864.78 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs. 1,679.98 crore and Adani Data Networks Rs. 18.94 crore. The country’s biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum received a record Rs. 1.5 lakh crore worth of bids, with Jio cornering nearly half of all airwaves sold with a Rs. 87,946.93 crore bid.