Mumbai: The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved a spectrum-sharing deal between Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd (R-Com) and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (R-Jio) for faster rollout of high-speed 4G services.

R-Com disclosed approval for the deal in a statement to the BSE.

“We wish to inform that department of telecommunications has taken on record 800Mhz spectrum sharing in 7 circles of the company and 2 circles of Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), wholly owned subsidiary, with R-Jio," the statement said.

R-Com and RTL will share spectrum with R-Jio in nine telecom zones—Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North-east.

In January, R-Jio, which is yet to launch commercial services, signed agreements with R-Com to share spectrum.

DoT approval will allow R-Com and R-Jio to offer 4G services that will deliver faster Internet at a lower cost.

R-Jio, which is preparing to launch its 4G services, entered into a ₹ 12,000 crore pact with R-Com in June 2013 to utilize the latter’s telecom towers for providing broadband digital services.

In 2014, R-Jio signed a deal with R-Com to share the latter’s optic fibre infrastructure in some 300 cities and towns.

Anil Ambani took control of R-Com in 2005 under the terms of an agreement that divided up the business empire built by their late father Dhirubhai Ambani, who died in 2002, between the two brothers.

Reliance Industries, R-Jio’s parent company, is investing $14 billion, or around ₹ 85,000 crore, in the telecom venture.

R-Com shares rose by 5.46% to ₹ 56.95 each on the BSE on news of the DoT approval for the spectrum-sharing deal on a day when the benchmark Sensex fell 0.16% to 25,838.14 points.

Reliance Group companies have sued HT Media Ltd, Mint’s publisher, and nine others in the Bombay high court over a 2 October 2014 front-page story that they have disputed. HT Media is contesting the case.

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