5G: Airtel Gets Spectrum Allocation Letter From DoT; Sunil Mittal Says 'Business As It Should Be'

Airtel acquired 19,867.8 MHz spectrum by securing a pan-Indian footprint of 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands and select purchase of radio waves in low and mid-band spectrum

Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, on Thursday said that Bharti Airtel received spectrum allocation letter within few hours of making upfront payment to the Department of Telecom (DoT).

This is the first time ever that the DoT has handed out a spectrum allocation letter on the day of making upfront payment.

Sunil Mittal in a statement said, "Yesterday Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 crore 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. No Fuss, No Follow Up, No running around the corridors and No tall claims. This is ease of doing business at work in its full glory."

The DoT has received payment of around Rs 17,876 crore from service providers, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks, and Vodafone Idea, for spectrum they won in a recent 5G auction.

"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. What a Change ! Change that can transform this nation – power its dreams to be a developed nation," Mittal added.

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a statement on Koo said that he country's biggest ever air waves auction is completed, and the 5G spectrum assignment letter has been issued, so requesting telecom services firms to prepare for launch.

While all telecom operators have opted to make payments in 20 annual instalments, Bharti Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 crore equivalent to four annual instalments.

Airtel acquired 19,867.8 MHz spectrum by securing a pan-Indian footprint of 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands and select purchase of radio waves in low and mid-band spectrum.

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

Gautam Adani's group has placed bids worth Rs 211.86 crore for 400 MHz in a band that is not used for offering public telephony services.

Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs 43,039.63 crore, while Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum for Rs 18,786.25 crore.