Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 155.19 billion to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) towards pre-payment of the deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in auction of year 2014.
The company had acquired 128.4 MHz spectrum (including Telenor spectrum) for a consideration of Rs 190.51 billion in the 2014 auction. These liabilities were due in annual instalments from FY’2026-27 to FY’2031-32 and carried an interest rate of 10 per cent and an average residual life of 7 plus years.
The company estimates that the pre-payment will likely result in interest cost savings of at least Rs 34 billion over the residual life for fully substituted capital.
The operator welcomes DoT’s decision on giving the industry the flexibility to pre-pay their deferred liabilities anytime at their net present value (NPV) basis the interest rates specified for the respective auction. This allows the licensees to efficiently plan and use their cash flows.
