Jio is planning to win over 350 million 2G feature phone users by launching a smartphone at a fraction of the current cost.
Promoter shareholders -- Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group -- have reiterated to the board that they intend to contribute up to Rs 11,000 crore and up to Rs 7,250 crore, respectively, amounting to a total of Rs 18,250 crore, as part of the Rs 25,000-crore rights issue.
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.
The latest telecom war kicked off after some pictures surfaced, showing Airtel banners among agitating farmers. According to the Jio camp, it was a giveaway that farmers were being enticed to port their phone numbers.
Vodafone Idea and Airtel have made provisions for their liabilities arising from the Supreme Court order in their latest September quarter results.
The merged entity would lead with a revenue market share of about 37 per cent against Airtel's 31.2 per cent and Jio's 14.5 per cent
The government will acquire a stake in debt-ridden Vodafone Idea after the stock price of the company stabilises at Rs 10 or above, according to an official source. Vodafone Idea (VIL) board has offered a stake to the government at a par value of Rs 10 per share. "There is a SEBI norm that the acquisition should take place at par value. DoT will clear the acquisition after VIL shares stabilise at Rs 10 or above," an official source told PTI. VIL shares are trading below Rs 10 since April 19.
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to October 13 the hearing on a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Ltd seeking quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
Measures reportedly being mulled by the government to ease telecom industry's stress and fundraising may give Vodafone Idea the much-needed breather, but structural issue undermining the sector can be fixed only with "sizable" tariff hike for 4G prepaid customers, according to a note by Edelweiss. It further observed that as Voda Idea's large liabilities are falling due, and given the impending launch of JioPhone Next (whose rollout timeline has now been pushed to before Diwali), "the sooner the government measures as well as tariff hikes are rolled out, the better it is". It is pertinent to mention here that the telecom sector has been keenly watching out for the relief package, which could include redefinition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) to exclude non-telecom items, cut in levies such as Spectrum Usage Charges and easier terms and conditions for surrendering radiowaves to the government.
While Airtel may be pushed to to No 3, Jio will find it mighty difficult to beat the new entity.
The conversion of interest into equity stake for the government in Vodafone Idea (Vi) will be decided after the telecommunications (telecom) company's stock price stabilises above Rs 10, India's largest mobile tower installation company Indus Towers has said in its second-quarter report. The board of Vi had, in January, approved the conversion of Rs 16,130 crore worth of interest on adjusted gross revenue dues into equity for the government. This will give the government around 33 per cent stake in Vi.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Thursday said its board has approved raising of up to Rs 14,500 crore, including Rs 4,500 crore from promoter entities. An amount of Rs 10,000 crore would be raised by way of sale of equity or through debt instruments such as ADR, GDR and FCCBs. In a regulatory filing, the company said the board has cleared issuance of up to 338.3 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 13.30 per equity share for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 4,500 crore.
Idea Cellular will have to furnish an undertaking that it will entertain all the liabilities whenever a final decision is taken by the courts
The government has approved conversion of over Rs 16,133 crore interest dues of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea into equity, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. Equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each will be issued to the government at the same price. "Ministry of Communications...passed an order today ie 3 February, 2023...directing the Company to convert the NPV of the interest related to deferment of spectrum auction instalments and AGR Dues into equity shares to be issued to the Government of India," the filing said.
Telecom firm Bharti Airtel will approach the government on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) it has to pay the exchequer following the Supreme Court's judgment that the government can reassess all AGR dues, according to vice-chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal.
A day after Vodafone Idea Ltd opted to convert interest on dues to government equity, its CEO on Wednesday said the government had made its position amply clear that it does not want to run the telco, and added that existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company's operations. Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Tuesday announced its decision 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. 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.
App-based communication services providers and Indian telcos are at loggerheads over the SIM-binding directions issued by the department of telecom, which are to be complied with by the end of February 2026.
Vodafone had however sought Rs 4,759.07 crore in tax refund from for AYs - 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
In its letter Voda Idea has warned that it is not in a sound financial state, and added that it would be in a position to meet its liabilities only if the government initiates steps including allowing set-offs for GST credit accumulated so far, and permitting staggered mechanism for payment of balance amount of interest, penalty, and interest on penalty.
The missive has, however, polarised stakeholders, with mobile operators under COAI coming out in its support, while digital platforms under the aegis of Broadband India Forum expressing "serious concerns" around overreach and calling for a pause in implementation of timelines.
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.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Friday reported widening of its consolidated loss to Rs 7,230.9 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021. The company had posted a loss Rs 4,532.1 crore in the same period a year ago. Consolidated revenue from operations declined by 10.8 per cent to Rs 9,717.3 crore from Rs 10,894.1 crore in the year-ago period.
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
Vi partners SpaceX-rival AST SpaceMobile for satcom service on smartphones
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is in the process of issuing a show-cause notice to Vodafone Idea (Vi) for delaying the payment of licence fee. Companies pay 8 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue as licence fee. This also includes a universal service obligation levy. The fee is collected from each of the 22 telecom circles in the country on a quarterly basis.
Adjusted gross revenue of the industry has grown just 5.3 per cent during the financial year ended March 31
Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has offered to hand over his stake in debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) to the government or any other entity that the government may consider worthy to keep the company operational. The billionaire businessman made the offer in June in a letter to Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba. According to official data, VIL had an adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability of Rs 58,254 crore out of which the company has paid Rs 7,854.37 crore and Rs 50,399.63 crore is outstanding.
Bharti may look at gaining market share pre-merger and benefit from a lower capex intensity
With several $500 million-plus deals in the pipeline -- including ICICI Prudential AMC, Lenskart, PhonePe, Groww, PhysicsWallah, Meesho, Pine Labs, and Zepto -- investment bankers look poised for another year of hefty bonuses in 2025.
The social impact of this could be worse as 300 million subscribers may face the annoyance of network shutdown and churn.
The government's stake in Vodafone Idea will more than double to 48.99 per cent as it is set to acquire shares worth Rs 36,950 crore in lieu of outstanding spectrum auction dues, the company said in a regulatory filing on Sunday.
Security has been increased across four districts in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly division for Dussehra, with internet services suspended in Bareilly district for 48 hours to prevent the spread of rumors and maintain public order.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher, referring to a Supreme Court order on a plea of Bharti Cellular Ltd in a similar case, asked the Department of Telecommunications not to take any coercive steps in pursuance of its notices issued to the telecom companies asking them to stop providing 3G services to mobile users in the circles for which they lacked licences.
Troubled Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court after the apex court recently dismissed its plea for rectification of the alleged errors in the calculation of adjusted gross revenues-related dues. In the petition, filed earlier this week, VIL has said it is "a travesty of justice" that the company is restrained from questioning the arithmetical errors/ omission which are going to cost it about Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 5,932 crore of principal plus interest, penalty and interest on penalty). VIL has said its contentions have been rejected by the order under review and added that this denial could result in the company going under and its about 27.3 crore subscribers being left "high and dry".
The trio has been voicing their criticism of Trai's recommendations and have asked the government to dump the report, which according to them are 'retrograde' and 'absurd'.
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.''
Shares of Reliance Industries as well as Bharti Airtel began the trade on a positive note on Wednesday after the two firms announced their partnerships with Elon Musk's SpaceX for providing high-speed internet services in India. Bharti Airtel stock opened with a gain of 5.49 pc to hit a high of Rs 1,388.25 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Soon, it pared all gains and traded 0.77 per cent lower to Rs 1,650.10 per piece.
The brand integration not only marks the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but will also set the company on its future journey to offer strong digital experiences to 1 billion Indians on its 4G network.
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