Bharti Airtel may not buy 5G spectrum and 'expensive' 700 MHz airwaves

The deal was made official in July this year when Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom announced the merger of the consumer mobile businesses of TTSL and TTML with the two Bharti group firms

In the upcoming spectrum auctions, Bharti Airtel may not buy the coveted 5G spectrum and the “expensive” 700 MHz premium airwaves. 

It plans to bid for airwaves in the 800, 900, and 1800 MHz bands for which its licences have either expired or are about to expire. 

“Airtel’s spectrum licences in the 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands have either expired or are expiring. The company would require more airwaves in those bands. It has informed the Union government (the Department of Telecommunications) about the same,” said a person in the know.  Airtel declined to comment.

Gopal Vittal, the