Vodafone Idea (Vi) had accepted the government’s offer of giving up equity against the accrued interest on deferred dues. The telco already has a mountain of debt, and it doesn’t want to add more to that. Thus, Vi had decided that it would offer the Government of India (GoI) equity in the company instead of the payment of dues. According to an ET Telecom report, K Rajaraman, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), said that Vi’s application for swapping accrued interest on the deferred dues for equity for the government could be approved within the next two to three weeks. It is worth noting that Vi had requested the government to expedite the approval for the application so that the shareholding pattern in the company could become clear.
Next Set of Telecom Reforms to Come by May or June 2022
The telecom department is already working on the next set of telecom reforms, and they might be announced by May or June 2022, said Rajaraman. The reforms that were announced last in September 2021 gave Vi hope to build a strong business in the long run in India. With the second set of telecom reforms, the sector’s strength would be bolstered further, which in turn would give Vi an even better chance to succeed. Rajaraman said that the next set of telecom reforms would be focused on ease of doing business. With 5G around the corner, the requirement of E and V band spectrum for backhaul services would increase. Jio has been asking the government to offer it via auctions. However, Bharti Airtel had said that the government should bundle the E-band airwaves with the 5G spectrum. Jio is against administrative allocation, and that is what the Supreme Court had asked the government to do as well. The Supreme Court wanted the government to auction the airwaves instead of allocating them to maintain a level of transparency.
