© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Sunil Mittal on 5G Allocation: Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Thursday praised the government’s approach towards the allocation of the 5G spectrum within hours of paying the necessary dues.
In a statement, the founder of one of India’s oldest private telecom operators informed that Bharti Airtel received the spectrum allocation letter within a few hours of making an upfront payment to the Department of Telecom (DoT).
“Yesterday Airtel paid Rs 8312.4 crore towards spectrum dues and was provided the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours. E-band allocation was given along with spectrum as promised,” Mittal said in the statement on Thursday.
“No Fuss, No Follow Up, No running around the corridors and No tall claims. This is ease of doing business at work in its full glory,” he added.
Bharti Airtel in an exchange filing on Wednesday informed that it paid Rs 8,312.4 crore to DoT towards the dues for 5G spectrum auctions which concluded recently.
The telco has paid 4 years of spectrum dues upfront and added that this upfront payment coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR related payments for four years will free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G roll out, the filing said.
“In my over 30 years of first-hand experience with DOT, this is a first! Business as it should be. Leadership at work-Right at the top and at the helm of telecom. What a Change ! Change that can transform this nation – power its dreams to be a developed nation,” Mittal said.
In the recently concluded 5G auctions, Bharti Airtel acquired 19,867.8 MHz spectrum by securing a pan-India footprint of 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands and select purchase of radio waves in low and mid-band spectrum. It made a successful bid of Rs 43,039.63 crore.
Airtel expects to roll out its 5G services in the country before the end of this month.
