Bharti Airtel acquires 355.45 MHz spectrum worth Rs 18,699 crore; stock climbs 2 per cent
Bharti Airtel Limited has acquired 355.45 MHz spectrum across Sub GHz, mid-band, and 2,300 MHz bands for Rs 18,699 crore in the latest spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. All the spectrums would enable Airtel to deliver 5G services in the future.
With this, the company has secured a pan India base of Sub GHz spectrum that will help improve its deep indoor and in-building coverage in every urban town. This spectrum will also help improve its coverage in villages with an ability to reach an additional 90 million customers in India.
The company’s management stated that despite a large amount of spectrum made available, the 700 MHz bands did not get any bid from the operators as it made no economic case for them based on the high reserve prices. The 700 MHz band, coupled with the 3.5 GHz band, has the potential to accelerate India's progress to the top league of digitally-enabled nations. Therefore, the reserve pricing of these bands must be addressed on priority in the future. This will help the nation to benefit from the digital dividend that will inevitably arise out of this.
On Tuesday, the stock of Bharti Airtel was trading 2.2 per cent higher at Rs 543.95 from its previous close of Rs 532.30 on BSE. Later, it got closed at Rs 541.25.