Telecom stocks down 4%

Telecom stocks today fell in the range of one per cent to four per cent, amid reports that companies face significant spectrum charge demand from the government. Bharti Airtel slumped 4.02 per cent to close at Rs 312.40. Reliance Communications dropped 4.27 per cent to Rs 67.20, while Idea Cellular declined 1.22 per cent to close at Rs 109.10.

“Shares of telecom companies saw selling pressure in the light of uncertainty due to reports that the government is demanding additional money for their permits and airwaves. Bharti and RCom were down close to four per cent each,”said Nagzi K Rita, chairman & managing director, Inventure Growth and Securities. According to news reports, the department of telecommunications has raised a demand of around Rs 877.6 crore from Vodafone as spectrum charges for the period between 2008-09 and 2011-12.