Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL), said it has paid ₹30,791 crore (including accrued interest) to the Department of Telecom (DoT) towards prepayment of the entire deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in auctions in 2014, 2015, 2016 and the spectrum acquired in 2021 through trading of right to use with Bharti Airtel Ltd.
The company had acquired 585.3 MHz spectrum in the said auctions/trading. RJIL said it had executed the first tranche of prepayment on the anniversary date in the month of October 2021 pertaining to the spectrum acquired in the auction in 2016.
Following DoT’s decision in December 2021 providing telcos with the flexibility to prepay their deferred spectrum liabilities on any date, RJIL has now prepaid in January 2022, the entire deferred liabilities acquired in the auction in 2014 and 2015 as well as spectrum acquired through trading, it said.
“These liabilities were due in annual instalments from FY 2022-23 to 2034-2035 and carried interest rate between 9.30% to 10% p.a. with an average residual period of 7+ years,” the company said in a statement.
“The company estimates that the above prepayments will result in interest cost savings of around ₹1,200 crore annually, at the current interest rates,” the statement added.