Vodafone Idea (Vi) has paid about 10% of its total debt to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the April-June quarter. The telecommunications company has also pledged to pay out the remaining balance by the end of September.
"Vodafone Idea paid 10 percent and assured the remaining will be paid by September end. We are hopeful the company will comply with the schedule as they did in the previous quarters,” a source told ToI.
Vodafone Idea owes DoT close to Rs 700 crore in license fees, spectrum usage fees, and other legal dues. The report also stated that the telecom company is experiencing financial instability as a result of significant losses and operating debt of Rs 2.1 lakh billion. Key performance indicators, including a rise in 4G subscribers and an improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU), a profitability indicator, have showed improvement.
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The Indian Government owns a 33% chunk of Vi in lieu of future interest pay-outs. However, the two major promoters of the company — Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Plc of the UK — are yet to invest equity into the firm inspite of giving many assurances to DoT.
The source expressed optimism that the firm will present a convincing turnaround plan without the need for daily government interventions.
The company had earlier sought 30 days more time to pay around Rs 1,680 crore for spectrum auction instalment in mid-August. It had also acquired a 5G spectrum in mid-band (3300 megahertz) and millimetre wave in the 26 GHz band in July 2022 spectrum auction.
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