In India, there are 22 services area, or circles, for 2G telecom services and both the companies operate in all the circles.
If he bets big, billionaire Mukesh Ambani will emerge from this week's airwave auction armed with spectrum that could make his Reliance Industries Ltd a formidable rival to market leaders Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Group.
Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL) has decided to opt for converting about Rs 16,000 crore interest dues liability payable to the government into equity which will amount to around 35.8 per cent stake in the company, as per a regulatory filing of the telecom firm. If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore. "...the board of directors, at its meeting held on 10th January 2022, has approved the conversion of the full amount of such interest related to spectrum auction instalments and AGR dues into equity.
In 2013-14, India became the third-largest contributor to Vodafone Group's service revenue and operating free cash flow.
The price offered is about a quarter of the value set by the govt in an auction that was scheduled for March 2013 but never took place.
The Indian mobile market has been witnessing a rate war with the entry of new players
Vodafone is facing tax liability over its $11 billion acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007.
Representatives of the British telecom company on Friday met senior finance ministry officials, in search of an amicable solution.
Cut-throat competition, high spectrum costs, and frequent flip-flops in government policies have made it difficult for Vodafone to make money in the country.
Vittorio Colao, who is currently on an India visit, said he would be open to listing his company in the country
There is considerable speculation as to whether this award would have any bearing on another Vodafone-type case, namely, the ongoing tax-related arbitration proceedings with Cairn Energy.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is in continuous talks with network vendors to finalise its 5G rollout plans, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said. "We are in early stages of 5G deployment. "5G is an important development and we are keeping our eyes on it," Moondra said on Wednesday in a post-result analyst call. Already five months behind rivals Jio and Airtel in the 5G race, Vi's efforts will be on the deployment of 5G in target geographies.
'He asserted in his usual jovial style that he was not an MBA like his audience at IIM-Ahmedabad but perhaps had an even better business degree: MBB'. 'He went on to explain to his perplexed, blue chip B-School audience that MBB stood for "Marwadi by birth"!' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Shashi Ruia, co-founder of the Essar group who passed into the ages on November 25, 2024 in Mumbai.
IBM, Nokia Oyj, Microsoft cases could now be resolved
Reliance Jio has urged telecom regulator Trai to come up with a revised paper on spectrum allocation for satellite communication alleging that it ignores the key point of ensuring level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial services. In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman, Anil Kumar Lahoti, Reliance Jio has sought revision of the consultation paper on recommending rules for "terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication services".
Though Google's investment is minuscule and will not move the needle, it will attract other investors to the company and be a morale booster. Pursuing Vodafone Idea would potentially pit Google against Facebook and an increasingly dominant Jio.
In August 2021, Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone Plc at the time, did not mince his words while speaking about the India business in an earnings call. Replying to an analyst's question on Vodafone Idea, a venture with the Aditya Birla Group that had piled on huge debts and worrisome losses, Read described it as a highly stressed situation that "they (Vodafone Idea) are trying to navigate... "We, as a group, try to provide them as much practical support as we can, but I want to make it very clear, we are not putting any additional equity into India.''
Conversion of debt of the stressed telecom player Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) into equity could be an option to emerge out of the crisis, lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) have suggested to Department of Telecommunications (DoT). DoT had called senior bank officials on Friday to discuss the stress in the telecom sector arising out of the Supreme Court order last month on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues payable by telecom majors, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, sources said. The top court has given a time period of 10 years to telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR-related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
The IPO is expected to bring handsome fees for the selected banks at a time when billion-dollar listings have become scarce
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has signed an agreement to buy Vodafone's 4.7 per cent stake in Indus Towers on the condition that the proceeds will be used for investment in Vodafone Idea and clearing its dues towards the mobile tower company. Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL) has been unable to pay dues to Indus Towers and both VIL and promoter Vodafone have proposed a payment plan to clear the outstanding amount by July 15. In the meantime, VIL has committed to pay certain minimum amount each month to Indus Towers.
The government should convert Vodafone Idea's (Vi) debt into equity to avoid a duopoly in the telecom sector, Deutsche Bank Research said in its report on Monday. This, the bank suggested, would be the only viable solution in the backdrop of the Supreme Court dismissing the telecom company's application for recomputation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
The government will have to make substantial payments, as well as forego revenues in FY'23, if it wants to work on the survival of Vodafone Idea because it will have to extend the same incentives to the entire telecom sector. According to estimates, the industry has to spend around Rs 21,000-Rs 25,000 crore for spectrum which it bought on a deferred payment basis. Vodafone Idea has asked for a moratorium for another year (FY23). If granted, the government will have foregone the instalment payout for a third year in a row as it has already provided a moratorium for two years, giving telcos Rs 42,000 crore worth of relief.
The two independent brands Vodafone and Idea will be phased out, and the legacy of the two companies will reflect in the common brand -- Vi.
'Retail investors, who had not seen such a massive correction in the SMID universe since COVID-19, are witnessing something like this for the first time. Panic profit booking may continue.'
Bharti Airtel on Monday reported a 168 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,593 crore for the September quarter, and the company unveiled top-level changes, including Gopal Vittal moving into the role of executive vice chairman on January 1, 2026. India's second-largest telco - that competes with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea in the Indian telecom market - clocked quarterly revenues of Rs 41,473 crore, 12 per cent higher than the year-ago period, aided by strong momentum in India and growth in Africa.
Prominent exits by promoters included a Rs 15,300 crore share sale in Indus Tower by Vodafone Plc, a Rs 9,300 crore share sale by the Tata group in Tata Consultancy Services.
Vodafone Idea's cash flow analysis indicates that its situation may remain challenging even after any relief measures, and the telco needs "meaningful capital infusion" with a long gestation period to become competitive, a report by Credit Suisse said on Wednesday. The report expects Airtel to be "well placed" in either of the scenarios, of two-private-operator sector, or three private operators post an industry repair. The note by Credit Suisse on the Indian telecom sector said there has been increasing interest among investors to evaluate valuations of Bharti Airtel and Indus Towers under two situations, in the wake of recent developments.
Globally, the focus has moved back to India, especially in terms of telecom assets. Vodafone Idea, with some 300 million customers, continues to be attractive with shares available at a low price.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Amid an existential crisis facing the firm over Rs 50,000 crore unpaid dues towards the government, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday stepped down as the chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd. Birla -- who had in June offered to give away his holding in the joint venture with Britain's Vodafone to the government -- will cease to be a director and non-executive chairman of the company at the end of business hours on Wednesday, VIL said in a filing to the stock exchanges. It did not give any reason for Birla's decision. He will be replaced by Himanshu Kapania (who was earlier managing director and CEO of Birla's Idea Cellular) as the new chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd.
Cabinet will take a decision on a conciliation offer from Vodafone.
If Modi's truly a reformer and a believer in minimum government, he would bury the Vodafone ghosts now. He would also then go to Bihar, campaigning on his politically controversial reforms. Both will need him to dip deep into his accumulated political capital and risk it, suggests Shekhar Gupta.
The company at present provides monthly mobile services at starting price of Rs 24 without data, and plans with data service starts from Rs 33 onward. It did not disclose the quantum of hike.
The Indian equity markets will soon account for over a fifth of a key emerging market (EM) benchmark tracked by funds with assets exceeding $500 billion. This development is expected to funnel as much as $3 billion into the domestic markets. Following the latest review undertaken by global index provider MSCI, India's weighting in the MSCI EM index will surpass 20 per cent for the first time, narrowing its gap with the current top-weighted China to fewer than 400 basis points.
The chief of the British telco's Indian subsidiary, which is the second largest cellular operator in India, also said the recent decisions by telecom authorities have disappointed the sector.
Vodafone India, the nation's second-biggest telecom firm, is planning to invest Rs 7,100 crore in the next 2-3 years, mainly on rolling out 3G networks.
Vodafone plc has made it clear that it will not make any fresh equity infusion in its Indian telecom business--Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL). Responding to a query, a spokesperson at the UK-headquartered telco said: "Just to confirm our position, there will be no new equity infusion from Vodafone Group." This is the first time that Vodafone has spoken about its stand after the government announced a telecom package.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech on Monday, announced a new dispute resolution mechanism for such companies who are in confrontation with the taxman's action.
Reliance Industries on Monday categorically denied any intent to bid for the UK telecom group, BT. RIL dismissed a report titled `Reliance mulling bid for UK's telco BT Group' as "completely speculative and baseless". "We categorically deny any intent to bid for the UK telecom group, BT, formerly British Telecom, as reported in the article...," Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said in a communication to BSE.
Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea is planning to begin 5G rollout in six months in select cities and places where 5G device concentration is high, a senior company official said on Friday. Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said the company expects capital expenditure of the company to be in the range of Rs 50,000-Rs 55,000 crore over the next three years with focus on expanding and strengthening 4G coverage.
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