Jio Acquires Airtel’s 800MHz Spectrum in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai Circles to Bolster Its 4G LTE Network

Airtel will get a consideration of Rs. 1,037.6 crores from Jio for the proposed transfer of its spectrum.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 6 April 2021 19:03 IST

Jio Acquires Airtel’s 800MHz Spectrum in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai Circles to Bolster Its 4G LTE Network

Photo Credit: Reuters

Jio will be able to enhance its 4G LTE network capacity through the latest deal

Highlights

Jio is acquiring Airtel’s rights to use 800MHz band
Airtel said the deal has enabled to unlock value from unutilised spectrum
Jio will assume liabilities of Rs. 459 crores relating to the acquisition

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel announced a spectrum trading agreement on Tuesday. Jio has acquired the rights to use Airtel's 800MHz band in the Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Mumbai circles through spectrum trading. The addition of the spectrum rights will help Jio enhance its network capacity and bolster its footprint in the telecom sector. Airtel, on the other hand, will be able to reduce its ongoing financial burden through the amount it will receive from Jio, which is subject to approvals.

Through this deal, Airtel will receive a consideration of Rs. 1,037.6 crores from Jio for the proposed transfer of its spectrum that was not being used. Jio will assume future liabilities of Rs. 459 crores relating to the spectrum.

Jio will receive 2x10MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band in the Andhra Pradesh and Delhi circles and 2x15MHz of spectrum in the Mumbai circle.

Airtel Beats Jio With 5.89 Million New Wireless Subscribers in January

“The sale of the 800 MHz blocks in these three circles has enabled us to unlock value from spectrum that was unutilised. This is aligned to our overall network strategy,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel, in a prepared statement.

An exact timeline on when consumers will receive the benefits of the latest deal is yet to be revealed. Jio said that the trading agreement was in accordance with the Spectrum Trading Guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals.

The 800MHz spectrum, which was initially used for the rollout of wireline services, has been considered by telecom operators for 4G LTE networks across India. However, operators including Airtel and Vi in the recent times had shifted their focus towards newer bands.

Reliance Jio May Launch 5G Smartphone, JioBook at AGM 2021: Report

Last month, Jio, Airtel, and Vi participated in the spectrum auction and bid for the 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2300MHz bands. The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology also put 700MHz and 2500MHz bands for bidding during the last spectrum auction round. Neither of these was picked by any of the four participants.

What is the best phone under Rs. 15,000 in India right now? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Later (starting at 27:54), we speak to OK Computer creators Neil Pagedar and Pooja Shetty. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Jio Fastest in Broadband Speeds, Vi in Mobile Data: Ookla Q4 2020 Report

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.