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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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.
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"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.
Since all operators acquired spectrum at market prices but with different payment plans, Jio and Airtel argue that amending the policy should not disproportionately benefit one company.
Push for a Competitive Telecom Market
"Since allowing surrender of spectrum before 2022 auctions would be termed as amending the notice inviting application (NIA), the changes should be done in a way that is fine with all telcos," another executive said, as per the report.
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The proposal is part of the government’s broader efforts to maintain a competitive telecom sector with three private players—Jio, Airtel, and Vi—along with state-run BSNL.
