Pay Rs 5,600 crore for spectrum liberalisation: DoT to Reliance Communications

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications has raised a demand of Rs 6,953 crore on Reliance Communications for liberalisation of spectrum in 16 circles, on payment of which the telco will be allowed to share and trade the airwaves. The demand includes the market price of Rs 5,384 crore and the remainder is a one-time spectrum usage charge, sources said. The due date for the payment is January 20.

Anil Ambani-controlled RCom had applied for liberalising its 800 MHz spectrum in 20 circles. It hasn’t received any notice for four circles – Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu – where the market-determined price is not available. ET had reported that RCom was in talks to trade and share spectrum with Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Operators opting to share or trade spectrum not bought at an auction must first pay a market-linked price to the government, a process known as ‘liberalising’ airwaves. Liberalisation will free up spectrum for providing services using any technology. RCom didn’t respond to ET’s query on whether it had received any such communication from the DoT. The company said in a BSE filing that it was yet to respond to media reports of having received the demand notice.

According to DoT guidelines, spectrum will be liberalised for the remaining period of an operator’s right to use it, as stated in the licence terms. The government levies the latest auction-determined price on spectrum that is sought to be liberalised. If the auction price is more than a year old, the prevailing market rate will be calculated by indexing the last auction price at SBI’s prime lending rate. Telecom companies are required to make payment within 30 days of receiving the demand note. Since the matter of one-time spectrum charge is sub judice, telcos will have to submit a bank guarantee. — Our Bureau