To a question on penalty imposed on telecom companies, Prasad said the outstanding SUC (spectrum usage charges) dues of various telecom service providers as on October 31, 2019, added to Rs 55,054 crore.
As per the data, Bharti Airtel lost 23.8 lakh users in September to take its total user base to 32.55 crore. Similarly, Vodafone Idea lost 25.7 lakh users in the month to take its total user base to 37.24 crore.
Faced with intense competition and unprecedented statutory dues, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Monday announced a hike in mobile phone call and data charges from December saying the increase was warranted for viability of their business.
Come December and your mobile bills will be on the rise -- if you are a Vodafone-Idea or Airtel user. Both the companies on Monday announced a hike in mobile phone call and data charges from December, courtesy -- intense competition and unprecedented statutory dues.
Vodafone Idea on Monday announced it will increase mobile service rates from December 1 in the wake of ongoing financial stress. The debt-ridden company, however, did not disclose the range or details of the proposed tariff hike.
This comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday stated that the government doesn't want any telecom company to shut operations.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) faces a liability of Rs 44,150 crore after the Supreme Court ordered that non-telecom revenues should be included in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of mobile phone service providers for calculation of statutory dues such as licence fee and spectrum usage charge.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Friday said it is exploring to monetise data centres as part of the company's debt reduction plans.
Shares of Vodafone-Idea and Airtel got a massive boost after reports that Department of Telcom (DoT) may fix a floor price for data and voice tariffs. This has rekindled hopes that the embattled telecom giants will be able to withstand the price war caused by Reliance Jio.
"Nevertheless, the weakening financial viability of Vodafone Idea Aeven if the companies get a relief from the government on payment timeline and some potential license fee reduction in the future. We have assumed that Bharti will gain 40 per cent of VIL's revenues or subscribers, while JIO might garner a higher share of 60 per cent," Emkay said.
A binding decision of the Supreme Court or High Court can be reviewed through a review petition on the ground of apparent error. Under the Supreme Court Rules, 1966, such a petition needs to be filed within 30 days from the date of judgement or order
Similarly, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shares closed at Rs 4.20 apiece, up 7.69 per cent. During the day, the stock touched a high of Rs 4.80, up 23.07 per cent. The company added over Rs 1,100 crore to its market capitalisation, which now stands at Rs 12,356.22 crore.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio, which is also a member of COAI, has been contesting claims of the inability of telcos to pay the statutory dues, for which they ideally should have provisioned in accounts in view of a legal dispute.
Shares of the telecom operator slumped 8.66 per cent to Rs 3.48 apiece - its 52-week low - on the BSE.
Amid reports of it exiting the India market, Vodafone Idea has said that it will continue to pay all its debt and dues in a timely manner. Vodafone Idea dismissed speculations in certain quarters that nearly Rs 40,000 crore of potential statutory dues has compelled the company to explore a debt revamp as "baseless and factually incorrect".
As the telecom sector stares at a massive payout following a Supreme Court order, the government has created a Committee of Secretaries to work out a financial bailout package that may include lowering of spectrum charges as well as ending the era of free mobile phone calls and dirt cheap data.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that telcos have to pay approximately Rs 92,000 crore to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as revenue share on AGR computation.
Facing over Rs 21,000 crore liability in interest and penalty alone after a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of telecom revenues, Vodafone Idea on Friday said it will approach the government for relief, including a waiver of interest and penalties.
The fall comes on the back of a Supreme Court order on Thursday asking telcos, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, to pay the government as much as Rs 92,000 crore in dues, which includes penalties and interest
In April 2018, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Group had announced an agreement for the merger of Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel to create the largest mobile tower operator in the world outside China. It will have over 163,000 towers across 22 telecom service areas in India.
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