According to the New Indian Express, which quoted a senior Department of Telecommunications official, Vodafone Idea, India’s third-ranked telecom, is scheduled to deploy its 5G network in June and has also been successful in forging partnerships with banks to acquire funding. The last steps of Vodafone Idea’s fundraising-related conversations may take place sometime in June, according to the article.
All About Vodafone Idea 5G launch!
“I consider Vodafone Idea’s discussions with the banks to be constructive efforts to raise money. The telecom company will make its fundraising announcement the following month. As the business has always stated that it would begin rolling out a 5G network once the finance was secured, I anticipate the business to do so in June itself,” the official was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
According to the article, a telecom department employee claimed that VI had paid a portion of its third-quarter license fee obligations and cleared the remainder. Remember that Vodafone Idea has been trying to raise money for several years without being successful.
The telecom secretary was reported as stating, “We continue to get monthly data on their subscriber base and other metrics, but we’re waiting for them to provide resources, including equity and debt, in addition to their monthly reports on subscriber base and other metrics.
And now that Mr. Birla is back on the board, I’m sure they will get back to us shortly with their strategy.” However, Vodafone Idea did not react to the publication’s inquiries. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, the telco’s competitors, claim they are on schedule to finish their 5G deployments between year’s end and early 2024.
According to the report, in February of this year, the Centre made the decision to convert Rs 16,133 crore in interest payments owed on deferred adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum use charge (SUC) from Vodafone Idea into equity. According to a recent report by Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla’s return to the company’s board is a “positive step” and Vodafone Idea is anticipated to announce its resurrection strategy soon.
