Reliance Communications completes sale of fibre assets to Reliance Jio for Rs 3,000 crore

Reliance Communications has sold its optic fibre and related assets to Reliance Jio Infocomm for Rs 3,000 crore, marking another step in the beleaguered telco’s efforts to pare debt.
“With the successful completion of the fibre monetisation transaction, 1,78,000 kms fibre stand transferred to Reliance Jio,” Anil Ambani-led RCom said in regulatory filing Monday.

RCom shares were down 0.10% in morning trade at Rs 19.07 on BSE.

Last week, RCom had sold its media convergence nodes (MCNs) and related infrastructure to Jio for Rs 2,000 crore which had marked the first tranche of wireless assets sold to the Mukesh Ambani-led telco under the former carrier’s asset monetisation plan.

Last year, RCom inked definitive binding pacts with Jio for the sale of its wireless spectrum, tower, fibre and MCN assets as part of an Rs 18,000 crore asset monetisation plan to pare its Rs 46,000 crore debt.

RCom wireless assets that will eventually go to Jio include 122.4 units of 4G airwaves across the 850, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands, over 43,000 towers, 1,78,000 RKm (route km) of fibre with a pan-India footprint and the 248 MCNs.

Howver, the lastest announcements come even as the telecom department is slated to ask RCom to furnish Rs 2,800-2,900 crore as spectrum usage charges (SUC) or give bank guarantees of the same sum, which, if not furnished, may lead to yet another hurdle in the Anil Ambani-owned telco’s efforts to sell its airwaves to Jio to cut debt.

RCom also needs to pay Ericsson Rs 550 crore by September 30, as part a settlement over the Rs1,000 crore dues the telco owes the Swedish telecom equipment maker (NCLT), backed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Supreme Court.