Voda Idea, Airtel, Jio pay spectrum dues of over 10,000 cr in April

The payments are towards the latest installment in deferred spectrum liability for radiowaves bought in the past auctions

Companies News: Leading telcos Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have paid the government over Rs 10,000 crore in spectrum dues slated for April 10, but debt-ridden Reliance Communications has so far not deposited its outstanding amount of Rs 492 crore, a source said. The payments are towards the latest installment in deferred spectrum liability for radiowaves bought in the past auctions.

The source privy to the development told PTI that the country’s largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea has made payment of over Rs 6,277.1 crore to the Department of Telecom (DoT) towards its spectrum dues. The company, which has put in motion a Rs 25,000-crore rights issue, had paid Rs 3,042.7 crore to the department in March as part of a previous installment.

While Bharti Airtel has made payment of Rs 2,745.8 crore and Reliance Jio paid Rs 1,109.1 crore, the embattled Reliance Communications has not yet made payment of about Rs 492 crore as on the due date. Typically, telecom companies are given a grace period of 10 days after the due date by the DoT to make the stipulated payment.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio did not comment on mails sent to them. Reliance Communications too declined to comment on the issue, but an industry observer noted that RCom has repeatedly written to the DoT, seeking return of excess bank guarantee encashment.The next round of installments for the operators is scheduled for September-October. The government, in March last year, enhanced number of annual installments for spectrum payment from 10 to 16 years to provide relief to the debt-laden telecom sector.

The industry argues that the sector has lost 42 per cent revenue from sales of telecom services on quarterly basis between April-June 2016 and July-September 2018. They have said the debt level on four mobile operators is at around Rs 5 lakh crore, and 60 per cent of the liability is from spectrum payment obligations…