Vodafone, India’s second-largest telecom operator will spend INR 20,280 crore on the spectrum, it has recently acquired in all its key telecom circles in the just concluded auction.
The company said in a statement, “The new spectrum significantly enhances coverage, capacity and speed of Vodafone India’s 4G data services in its key circles, complementing existing high-quality 2G and 3G voice and data capabilities.”
INR 10,140 out of Vodafone’s investment totals INR 20,280 crore is payable upfront. Vodafone had earlier announced that it had pumped in INR 47,700 crore as the telecom industry was gearing up for the spectrum auction.
Vodafone had emerged as the most aggressive bidder in the recently concluded auction ahead of rivals such as Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, and the new-comer Reliance Jio giving the INR 20,280 crore push for the spectrum purchase.
The spectrum acquired has a 20 year term and the airwaves to provide high-capacity, multi-band 4G capability operating across 1800, 2100 and 2500 MHz bands, the statement further added.
“We are happy with the outcome of our spectrum purchases in the auction. This enables us to provide our customers broadband services across India with multi-band high capacity capability in our strong circles,” Sunil Sood, Managing Director and CEO, Vodafone India.
Vodafone India has 4G capability in 17 circles, making 90 percent of the company’s total revenues and 94 percent of mobile data revenues.
Vodafone India has more than 200 million customers with the largest voice and data traffic usage within the Vodafone Group.
The company had acquired 78.4 MHz of spectrum last year in 12 telecom circles in the 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands, in circles such as Uttar Pradesh (East), Kerala, Assam, Gujarat, and Karnataka, among others.
Vodafone to Spend INR 20,280 on the Spectrum Buy
