Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio conclude Rs 1,005 cr spectrum trade deal

Bharti Airtel on Friday concluded its trading deal to sell 800 MHz airwaves in three circles to Reliance Jio Infocomm. 

This marks the closure of the first ever such deal between the two archrivals. Airtel, in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, announced "the closure of its agreement with Reliance Jio Infocomm ("Jio") to transfer the 'Right to Use' of Airtel's 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio." 

"Airtel has received Rs. 1004.8 crore (net of tax) from Jio for the proposed transfer. In addition, Jio will assume future liabilities of Rs. 469.3 crore relating to the spectrum," the Sunil Mittal-led telco said in its filing.

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The deal gives Jio the right to use Airtel's 800 MHz spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh circles. 

In April, Airtel had signed an agreement with Reliance Jio to sell its 800 MHz spectrum to the latter. 

The telco had then offered to sell 1.25 MHz in Delhi, 2.5 MHz in Mumbai, and 3.75 MHz of bandwidth in Andhra Pradesh, subject to statutory and regulatory approvals.

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Airwaves come in different bands which support different propagation characteristics for the transmission of voice and data.

For instance, lower bands like 800 MHz and 900 MHz support good indoor coverage while higher bands like 2300 MHz have a good carrying capacity. The airwaves are also sold in quantities measured as MHz.