Airtel completes acquisition of Aircel airwaves in Andhra Pradesh

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest cellco by subscribers, has confirmed that it has completed its INR35 billion (USD512.8 million) acquisition of 4G-compatible frequencies from rival Aircel. The two operators had agreed the sale in April this year, with Airtel set to acquire the smaller provider’s 20MHz blocks of 2300MHz spectrum in eight circles in the run-up to Aircel’s planned merger with Reliance Communications (RCOM). The transfer of the spectrum rights in the first six circles – Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam and North East – was concluded in July 2016, followed by Odisha in August. In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Airtel confirmed that, having received all necessary approvals and satisfied all conditions, it has now completed the acquisition of the final 20MHz of 2300MHz band spectrum, covering Andhra Pradesh.