Vodafone offers Rs 4,000 cr for licence renewal in 3 cities

Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit, which is in a dispute with the government over the renewal of its licences in three key cities, is offering to pay Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) for the extension of the permits, the company said in a letter dated June 18 to the telecoms ministry and seen by Reuters.

The price offered by Vodafone for airwaves in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata is about a quarter of the value set by the government in an auction that had been scheduled for March 2013 but never took place because there were no bidders.

Vodafone's offer price is for the extension of the licences for 20 years, along with its current airwave holdings in the three cities, the company wrote to the government's telecommunication secretary, adding it was willing to discuss the issue further to arrive at mutually agreed terms and conditions.