All four companies that purchased spectrum in the recently ended auction have received a request from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asking them to pay by August 16.
The telcos have the option of making 20 equal annual payments. The telecom companies can also choose to pay a partial advance (which can be several whole years with a minimum of two years) or the full amount.
The first tranche of Reliance Jio would be Rs 7,864 crore while Bharti Airtel’s would be Rs 3,848 crore if the companies choose to pay in 20 equal installments. According to the reports posted on the DoT website on Saturday, the first installment of Vodafone Idea is worth Rs 1,679 crore while Adani Data Networks, a new competitor, is to pay Rs 18.94 crore. However, the Adani group company is expected to pay the entire offer of 212 crore rupees.
Payment details
With a bid of Rs 88,078 crore, market leader Jio was the highest bidder in the 5G airwave auctions, which closed on Monday. Airtel and Vodafone idea each bought ether for Rs 43,084 crore and Rs 18,799 crore respectively.
The DoT told the firms in issuing the demand announcements that in the frequency range of 25.5-27GHz, a delay zone with a radius of 2.7km may be required from a place in Gujarat and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands that can be defined in the future.
As a result, the companies may be forced to move their channels as needed, in which case a pro-rata reduction of the total payment responsibility will be allowed, effective from the later date of such exclusion or the date of the channel’s relocation.
The DoT has informed about the availability of spectrum in all blocks in the different bands obtained by the companies, in addition to increasing the demand for payments. The companies have been informed that spectrum availability is not total in some blocks. The department’s efforts to reorganize or harmonize spectrum have just ended, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The seven-day auction that ended on Monday raised Rs 150,173 crore for the government from the sale of 51,236 MHz. It has sold a total of 72,098 MHz of ether.
The government expects 5G services to be phased in from September or October, with full pan-Indian coverage in two to three years and backed by investments of around Rs 2-3 lakh crore. The first places 5G networks are likely to go live are metropolises and Category A circles with high paying customers, then smaller towns and cities.
