Bharti Airtel today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Tikona to acquire Tikona’s 4G Business including its Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum and 350 sites, in five telecom circles for Rs. 1,600 crores.
Tikona currently has 20 MHz spectrum in the 2300 MHz band in Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh circles. As per the agreement, the acquisition of the 4G business in Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Himachal Pradesh will be undertaken by Airtel, while in the Rajasthan circle, it will be accomplished through Airtel’s subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited.
Post-acquisition, the combined spectrum holding of Airtel in these five circles will be within the spectrum caps prescribed by the Government. Airtel said that the deal will significantly bolster its spectrum position in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, taking its overall BWA spectrum holding to 30 MHz each in these circles.
Post completion of the deal, Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in 13 circles giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand.
Airtel said that it plans to roll-out high speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles immediately after the closure of the transaction, which is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.
Commenting on the acquisition, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said:
Airtel’s continued focus on strengthening its 4G capabilities across multiple spectrum bands will be complemented with the BWA spectrum acquisition from Tikona. We believe that combining our capacities in TD-LTE and FD-LTE will further bolster our network, and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers. We remain committed to our vision of leading India’s digital revolution by offering world-class and affordable telecom services through a robust spectrum portfolio spread across multiple bands.