Telecom sector is going through some really arduous war and the telecom companies are nowhere lacking in putting themselves forward for providing the cheapest plan possible. Going with the flair, Bharti Airtel recently put forward a big plan. The company has announced its possession over Tikona Digital Networks. Bharti Airtel will acquire its 4G business which includes broadband wireless access spectrum. Currently, Tikona has its 350 sites around 5 circles. During the deal, the market value of Tikona has been assessed as Rs. 1,600 crore. With this acquisition, the Airtel founder Sunil Mittal is all set to deal with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio which owned the market with its epic plans for opulent customer experience. Now, they just need to acquire the regulatory approvals.
Since November, the telecom companies are facing hard time when Jio crossed its 50 million customer mark. Currently, the company has more than 54.9 million customers out of which 37.6 million are just 3G and 4G customers.
Bharti Airtel encash its 22.8 per cent revenue from data itself. In the 2,300 MHz band, Tikona has its share of 20 MHz spectrum in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
As per the plans of Airtel, they will put forward their 4G services in five circles.
In the Rajasthan state, Airtel’s 4G business will be taken care by Bharti Hexacom which is Airtel’s subsidiary. Apart from this, the other states like UP, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Will taken care of by Airtel.
Airtel is planning to have dual benefits from it as Bharti Airtel will not only have an extended spectrum but will also reduce weighted average spectrum usage charges for Airtel. The SUC of Tikona is at 1 % of AGR (Annnualised Gross Revenue).
As per the current scenarios, Bharti Airtel is paying SUC of 4.3 % of AGR. The acquisition will reduce the Bharti’s SUC by 25 basis points. With this, Bharti Airtel will be benefitted with an annual saving of Rs. 1,000 crore.
