Reliance Jio clears all dues for 2016 Spectrum Auction, pays DoT Rs. 10,792 Crore

On Thursday, sources reported that Reliance Jio has deposited Rs. 10,792 crore to the Department of Telecommunications, towards dues from the 2016 spectrum auction.

Jio Pays Up for 2016 Spectrum Auction

The person said, "Jio has paid Rs. 10,792 crore to the DoT for airwaves bought in 2016. However, it has not yet cleared all dues of spectrum bought in 2015 and 2014, which is about Rs. 15,000-16,000 crore, including interest".

Regarding the older dues, the telco can still opt for the 4-year moratorium; it has to do it today, though. The moratorium, opted in by both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, was announced under the telecom relief package in September. It looks more and more unlikely that Jio will opt for the spectrum moratorium given its strong financial position.

In the 2016 spectrum auction, Reliance Jio had bought spectrum worth Rs. 13,672 crore. Back then, it had paid Rs. 5,930 as upfront payment. "The latest payment, which includes interest, has cleared that year's spectrum dues", the person quoted earlier said.

India's largest telco has not been the subject of much relief after the government announced the relief measures. Notably, the telco had already cleared its AGR dues, so it only had spectrum payments as the statutory dues. Despite of that, the telco still can save up to Rs. 4,300 crore in annual cash flows by opting for the moratorium. For context, Vodafone Idea will get an annual cash flow relief of Rs. 60,000 crores. All of the telcos will make sure to invest as much of this saved money in the 5G spectrum auction, which can happen as soon as next year.

This just goes to show the financial strength of Jio; the telco has put yet another positive display in the quarter just gone. The telco’s average revenue per user, or ARPU, reached ₹143.6 per subscriber per month, growing by a “healthy” 3.7%. Moreover, the telco recorded a gross revenue of ₹23,222 crore, which reflected a 15.2% hike. The EBITDA also showed a similar increase, reaching ₹9,294 crore with a +16.6%.

Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel are yet to report their quarterly numbers.