Jio Platforms’ spectrum development balance fell by 93%

Jio Platforms Limited’s spectrum-under-development balance fell 93% to Rs 8,611.4 crore at 31 March 2026 from Rs 1,29,602 crore at 31 March 2024. Over the same two years, Jio Platforms’ net deployed spectrum rose to Rs 1,88,120.3 crore from Rs 69,852 crore as spectrum-related networks became available for their intended use.

Why did Jio Platforms’ spectrum development balance fall by 93%?

Jio Platforms’ spectrum-under-development balance fell because its accounting policy transfers spectrum to operating intangible assets when the related network is available for use as intended by management. Spectrum under development includes project-development expenditure, net of income earned during the development stage, before the network reaches that availability-for-use threshold.

The balance decreased by Rs 1,20,990.6 crore between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2026. In the same period, net deployed spectrum increased by Rs 1,18,268.3 crore. The reported balances identify a substantial shift between development-stage and operating asset categories, although the financial information does not provide a reconciliation that identifies the precise commissioning transfer in each year.

The movements are not necessarily a one-for-one transfer because additions and amortisation also changed reported values. Jio Platforms recorded spectrum additions of Rs 83,244.1 crore in the year ended 31 March 2025 and Rs 48,477.4 crore in the year ended 31 March 2026. Spectrum amortisation was Rs 5,974 crore in 2025 and Rs 7,479.1 crore in 2026.

How much spectrum had Jio Platforms deployed at March 2026?

Jio Platforms had Rs 1,88,120.3 crore of net deployed spectrum at 31 March 2026, up Rs 40,998.3 crore from Rs 1,47,122 crore a year earlier. Net deployed spectrum represents spectrum cost after accumulated amortisation, rather than the gross acquisition cost of spectrum rights.

At 31 March 2026, gross spectrum cost was Rs 2,20,957.9 crore and accumulated amortisation was Rs 32,837.6 crore. Gross spectrum cost had been Rs 93,162.8 crore at 31 March 2024, while accumulated amortisation was Rs 23,310.8 crore, showing that spectrum additions exceeded the cumulative increase in amortisation over the two-year period.

Jio Platforms amortises spectrum from the commencement of commercial operation over its balance validity period, based on the expected pattern in which future economic benefits are consumed. The disclosed remaining amortisation period for spectrum and licence fees at 31 March 2026 ranged from four to 18 years, compared with five to 19 years at 31 March 2025.

What does Jio Platforms’ spectrum shift show about network assets?

Jio Platforms’ operating network-asset base increased alongside the fall in spectrum under development. Total net property, plant and equipment, including owned and right-of-use assets, rose by Rs 1,02,117.8 crore to Rs 2,50,991.6 crore at 31 March 2026 from Rs 1,48,873.8 crore at 31 March 2024.

Plant and machinery represented Rs 2,47,387.3 crore of total net property, plant and equipment at 31 March 2026, or 98.6% of the Rs 2,50,991.6 crore total. Owned property, plant and equipment rose to Rs 2,35,428.9 crore from Rs 1,35,317.7 crore over the two years, while right-of-use assets increased to Rs 15,562.7 crore from Rs 13,556.1 crore.

Capital work-in-progress, or CWIP, declined to Rs 14,467.3 crore at 31 March 2026 from Rs 81,176.8 crore at 31 March 2024. CWIP consists of project expenditure before an asset is available for its intended use. At 31 March 2026, capital goods inventory accounted for Rs 9,208 crore and project-development expenditure accounted for Rs 3,060.1 crore within CWIP and other intangible assets under development.

The combined decline in CWIP and spectrum under development occurred as deployed spectrum and net property, plant and equipment increased. That balance-sheet pattern is consistent with a greater proportion of investment being represented by assets available for use, but the disclosures do not assign individual CWIP balances to specific commissioned network assets.

What remains under development and what could affect expenses?

Jio Platforms still carried Rs 8,611.4 crore of spectrum under development at 31 March 2026, and the entire amount was classified as projects in progress. None was classified as temporarily suspended. Of the total, Rs 7,294.7 crore, or 84.7%, had been under development for more than three years.

The ageing profile changed materially from 31 March 2025, when Rs 48,266.9 crore of the Rs 54,176.3 crore spectrum-under-development balance was aged two to three years and no balance was reported as older than three years. At 31 March 2024, Rs 93,730.7 crore was aged one to two years and Rs 28,626.4 crore was aged two to three years.

Jio Platforms disclosed no CWIP or spectrum-under-development projects whose completion was overdue or whose cost exceeded the original plan at 31 March 2026. Other intangible assets under development declined to Rs 6,827.7 crore from Rs 24,365.4 crore at 31 March 2024, although Rs 3,075.5 crore of the 2026 balance was aged more than three years.

Depreciation and amortisation expense rose to Rs 27,597.5 crore in the year ended 31 March 2026 from Rs 24,153.7 crore in the previous year. The 2026 total included Rs 7,479.1 crore of spectrum amortisation. Separately, from 1 April 2025, Jio Platforms revised the useful life of certain network assets from 16 years to 18 years after an internal technical evaluation, changing the timing of depreciation for those assets from their commissioning dates.

Conclusion

Jio Platforms’ reported asset balances show a pronounced movement from development-stage spectrum and network projects into assets available for use between March 2024 and March 2026. Spectrum under development declined by Rs 1,20,990.6 crore while net deployed spectrum increased by Rs 1,18,268.3 crore, alongside a Rs 1,02,117.8 crore rise in net property, plant and equipment. Additions, capitalisation on network availability and ongoing amortisation together determine the reported balances.

The next disclosure to watch is the ageing and commissioning of the remaining Rs 8,611.4 crore of spectrum under development, particularly the Rs 7,294.7 crore aged more than three years. Jio Platforms has disclosed no temporarily suspended spectrum-development projects and no overdue or over-budget CWIP or spectrum-under-development projects at 31 March 2026, but it has not disclosed a project-by-project commissioning timetable.