Bharti Airtel made an initial prepayment of INR80.3 billion ($979.2 million) to the Department of Telecoms (DoT) towards deferred liabilities related to spectrum acquired in an auction in 2015.

The operator stated instalments have a 10 per cent interest rate and have been paid using much lower-cost financing.

Airtel added it continues to “enjoy access to a well-diversified sources of capital/financing, allowing it to have enhanced financial flexibility in its capital structure”.

It paid INR243.3 billion to DoT in 2022 for spectrum acquired in the same auction.

DoT reforms gave operators the flexibility to prepay their deferred spectrum liabilities at any time.