Department of Technology to ask Airtel, TTSL to pay over Rs 15,000 crore

MUMBAI: The telecom department (DoT) will shortly ask Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices (TTSL) to collectively pay around Rs 15,000 crore as dues relating to a mix of pending licence fees, spectrum usage charge (SUC) and onetime spectrum charge (OTSC) as a pre-condition for clearing their merger, two people aware of the matter said.
“Airtel and TTSL have to pay around Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 2,800 crore, respectively, as SUC,” said a DoT official, who did not want to be named. “Then there is another Rs 2,000 crore of OTSC that transferee firm Airtel will have to pay in the form of bank guarantees to the government,” the official added.
Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices didn’t respond to ET’s emailed queries.