However, the company did not cite any reason for terminating the deal.
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India’s largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced a Rs 4,428-crore deal to buy Videocon Telecom’s spectrum in six regions to expand its footprint in 4G – purportedly the new frontier of the next telecom war.
Idea Cellular and Videocon Telecommunications have mutually agreed to call off their Rs 3,310-crore spectrum deal for two telecom circles.
The deal will also give Airtel 4G LTE capability in all the metros and Category A service areas, and either 3G or 4G presence across all 22 circles, the brokerage said in a note seen by ET.
The deal comes at a time when most top Indian telecom operators are focusing on data to boost revenue as income from voice calls stagnates.
Bharti Airtel will now buy 1,800 megahertz spectrum from Videocon in six service areas in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the north, Madhya Pradesh in central India and Gujarat in the west, the company said in a statement to the exchanges Thursday.
Idea Cellular’s 4G LTE coverage is available in over 350 cities and state capitals in 10 telecom circles. This deal will enable Bharti to defend its marketshare once Reliance Jio launches its 4G services. The report notes that both parties did not file a public intimation of this transfer agreement for ownership of the spectrum under spectrum trading guideline with DoT. The termination of the pact has no cost implication to Idea, it added. Trai has suggested a plan for spectrum sale, expected to be held in July this year, which has a potential to fetch Rs 5.36 lakh crore. It paid INR291.3 billion in total. Trai has recommended a record high base price of Rs 11,485 crore per Mhz for the 700 Mhz band.
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Videocon’s spectrum is valid till December 18, 2032, and will increase Bharti’s ability to offer 4G services in 19 of the country’s 22 telecom circles.
