Bharti Airtel has prepaid Rs 36.26 billion to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), clearing all its liabilities for spectrum it had acquired in 2016. This payment is part of Airtel’s efforts to clear its spectrum dues with high interest costs. With this payment, Airtel has now prepaid all its spectrum liabilities with interest costs higher than 8.65 per cent.
As per the telco, this is the second prepayment the company has made in the current financial year. In June 2024, the company prepaid all its deferred liabilities for spectrum acquired in the 2012 and 2015 auctions, amounting to Rs 79.04 billion. Airtel acquired spectrum worth `86.7 million in 2012 and Rs 291.29 billion in the 2015 auction. Airtel has now prepaid a total of Rs 283.2 billion of spectrum liabilities in the calendar year of 2024.
