Jio, Airtel Urge Fair Play in Spectrum Surrender Policy: Report

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have urged the government to ensure a level-playing field while framing the proposed spectrum surrender policy, instead of favouring a single telecom operator, ET reported, citing sources familiar with the details. During a recent meeting with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India’s top two telcos supported the idea of surrendering unused spectrum but stressed that the policy should benefit all players equally.

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Also Read: Govt May Allow Telecom Firms to Surrender Excess Spectrum: Report

Vodafone Idea Stands to Gain the Most

The proposal, if approved, will allow telcos to return airwaves acquired before 2022. However, Vodafone Idea (Vi) stands to gain the most, as it could significantly reduce its annual spectrum payments.

Vi, burdened with spectrum dues of Rs 1.57 lakh crore, could save an estimated Rs 40,000 crore by returning unused airwaves, according to reports. The telco holds 8,030 MHz of spectrum across multiple bands, the highest per subscriber in the industry, the company says.

Airtel Advance Payments

Jio, having prepaid most of its spectrum dues, holds minimal excess airwaves, while Airtel has some surplus in the 2100 MHz band but has also made advance payments. Bharti Airtel has been making advance payments for most of its previous spectrum purchases.

Also Read: Bharti Airtel Prepays Rs 3,626 Crores to Clear 2016 Spectrum Liabilities

“Surrender of spectrum is absolutely the right way forward because you are sitting with a scarce resource and if you are not using it, it should be surrendered and the same can be auctioned. We have been supportive of that,” said an executive at one of the telcos mentioned above, according to the report.