Bharti Airtel has made a part prepayment of Rs 83.25 billion to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the spectrum acquired in 2015. In an exchange filing, the telco stated that the payment has been done to save on interest costs as the spectrum dues instalments carried a higher interest rate of 10 per cent.
This is the second time in the current financial year (FY24) that Airtel prepaid its high-cost deferred liabilities ahead of the payment schedule. In July 2023, the company had prepaid Rs 80.24 billion to DoT towards part payment for the spectrum acquired in 2015.
In 2015, Airtel acquired spectrum worth Rs 291.3 billion in the auctions. The company had paid around Rs 78.33 billion upfront for the spectrum acquired. Post that, it prepaid about Rs 88.15 billion in March 2022.
