Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal praised the Modi government on the ease of doing business. He stated that soon after paying the first instalment for 5G spectrum, telecom providers received allocation letters that earlier used to take time, demanded follow ups and multiple visits.
Mittal stated, “No fuss, no follow up, no running around the corridors and no tall claims. This is the ease of doing business at work in its full glory. In my over 30 years of first-hand experience with the DoT (Department of Telecommunications), this is a first! Business as it should be.”
Within hours of payment, according to Mittal, Airtel received the allocation letter for the chosen frequency bands. Over Rs 17, 873 crore was paid by telecom providers as 5G spectrum debt. Bharti Airtel, which made advance payments for four years to free up money for future investments, paid over half of the total ($8,312.4 crore).
He added, “Leadership at work—right at the top and at the helm of telecom. What a change! Change that can transform this nation – power its dreams to be a developed nation.”
According to reports, in the most recent 5G spectrum auction, Airtel purchased 19,867 MHz of spectrum across several bands for Rs 43,084 crore. Airtel plans to launch commercial 5G service later this month. This comprises 3.5 GHz, 26 GHz, and specific low- and mid-band bandwidth.
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