Airtel Clears ₹7,904 Crore Spectrum Dues from 2012 and 2015 Auctions: Boosts 5G Rollout and Cash Flow

Bharti Airtel has prepaid ₹7,904 crore to the Department of Telecom (DoT), settling the remaining dues for spectrum bought in the 2012 and 2015 auctions. This move will help Airtel save on interest costs and improve cash flow as it completes its nationwide 5G rollout.

Earlier, in July 2023, Airtel had prepaid ₹8,024 crore, clearing a significant portion of its deferred payments. By prepaying these dues, the company has now fully settled all deferred liabilities for the spectrum acquired in the 2012 and 2015 auctions, which had high interest rates of 9.75% and 10% respectively.

Impact on Airtel Shares

The company’s shares rose by 0.24% to ₹1428.75 on the BSE on Friday, with the announcement coming after market hours.

Airtel’s deferred liabilities were part of a four-year moratorium on spectrum and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) payments, which was expected to provide around ₹48,000 crore in cash flow relief. This moratorium was introduced as part of the government’s telecom relief package in September 2021, which also included reduced bank guarantees and an option to convert statutory dues into government equity.

Previous Spectrum Payments

In March 2022, Airtel had prepaid ₹8,815 crore to DoT for spectrum bought in the 2015 auction, where it had purchased 111.6 MHz of airwaves for ₹29,130.20 crore, with ₹7,832.58 crore paid upfront.

In December 2021, Airtel also cleared all dues for spectrum bought in the 2014 auction by prepaying ₹15,519 crore to the telecom department.