Airtel; the leading 4G network in India acquires Tikona’s 4G business as the company today announced that has entered into a definitive agreement with Tikona. It will also take over 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 and as per the agreement, Airtel will undertake the Tikona’s 4G business in Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Himachal Pradesh. While the Rajasthan circle will be handled by Airtel’s subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited.
Even after the completion of the Acquisition, the combined spectrum in these five circles will be well within the spectrum caps posed by the Indian Government. This acquisition will surely boost Airtel’s spectrum position in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, taking its overall BWA spectrum to 30 MHz each in these circles and it also gives tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand with 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in these 13 circles.
Airtel will roll out the high-speed 4G services based on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles soon the requisite regulatory approvals and closure of the transaction.
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.
But alongside this, Rajesh Tiwari, one of the cofounders of Tikona, has slapped a legal notice against both the companies for not providing details of how the proceeds will be split among shareholders. He is against the deal going ahead until there is clear information about his entitlements and his interests are protected.
