“Bharti Airtel has prepaid Rs 3,626 crore to the Department of Telecom (Government of India), clearing all its liabilities for spectrum acquired in 2016. In total, the telecom carrier has prepaid Rs 28,320 crore in spectrum liabilities this calendar year.” The company said in a statement.
In June, the Sunil Mittal-promoted telecom operator also prepaid all deferred liabilities for spectrum acquired in the 2012 and 2015 auctions, where interest rates were as high as 9.75 percent and 10 percent. Advance payment for these auctions was Rs 7,904 crore.
Earlier in the year, Airtel prepaid Rs 8,325 crore to the government, clearing part of its deferred liabilities for the spectrum it acquired in the 2015 auction. In 2015, Airtel secured 111.6 MHz of spectrum for Rs 29,130.20 crore, with an upfront payment of Rs 7,832.58 crore, according to auction rules at the time.