Bharti Airtel will acquire Tikona Networks’ 4G business for around Rs 1,600 crore, the telecom major said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The acquisition will include broadband spectrum and 350 cellular sites across the five circles of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West).
Airtel will takeover the 4G business in four circles, barring Rajasthan. “In the Rajasthan circle, it will be accomplished through Airtel’s subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited,” it said.
Tikona has a spectrum of 20 MHz in the 2,300 MHz band in these five circles. The company had bought these for Rs 1,058 crore during the 2010 auction, reported mint.
Airtel hopes to offer unmatched wireless internet speed after this deal. “We believe that combining our capacities...will further bolster our network and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (India & South Asia) Gopal Vittal told PTI.
This deal will make Airtel the second firm to have a pan-India presence in the 2,300 MHz band. Reliance Jio enjoys such widespread presence at present. “Post completion of the deal, Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2,300 MHz band in 13 circles, giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand,” the company said.
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