Reliance Jio spends Rs 11,054 cr on spectrum

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio acquired telecom airwaves in 14 circles, spending Rs 11,054 crore.

The company which already owns a pan-India licence for broadband wireless access (BWA), is all set to offer voice and data telephony with its latest purchase in 1800 megahertz band.

Jio bought its latest spectrum in all the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta; as well all the A category circles.

"With this acquisition, Reliance Jio will be the holder of the largest quantum of liberalized spectrum and with the longest residual spectrum life. Reliance Jio’s seamless 4G services using FDD-LTE on 1800 MHz and TDD-LTE on 2300 MHz through an integrated ecosystem, aims to provide high quality access to innovative digital content, applications and services," said Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries.

The spectrum was acquired at 31 per cent premium to the reserve price. This is lower than the 55 per cent to 110 per cent premium paid by operators who won spectrum in the 900 Mhz band, the company said.

The company has spectrum in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu. It also acquired spectrum in category B circles of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal. It also has spectrum in the widely contested category C Assam circle, along with Orissa and North East. 

RJIL said it will pay 33 per cent of its total spend as an upfront payment, with the balance payable in 10 equal annual instalments after a two year moratorium, as per the provisions of the Notice Inviting Applications issued by DoT.