Opensignal has consistently found Airtel to be the fastest network in terms of 4G data download while telecom regulator Trai has found Reliance Jio to be the fastest network from last several months.
The government, in March last year, enhanced the number of annual instalments for spectrum payment from 10 to 16 years to provide a breather to the debt-laden telecom sector.
A recent Bank of America Merril Lynch (BofA-ML) report said it believed Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) would exit the six circles in C-Circle where it has been continuously losing revenue market share with share below 20 per cent. The report has identified Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, North East and Assam from where VIL may exit.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio pipped Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in April-June as top revenue earner from telecom services at Rs 10,900 crore within three years of commencing commercial operations, according to the latest financial data released by telecom regulator Trai. This assumes significance as Reliance Jio stormed into the highly-competitive telecom sector in September 2016 with its disruptive voice and data offerings, while Bharti Airtel had launched its services way back in 1995.
The unabated losses at Vodafone-Idea are eroding the value of other Aditya Birla Group firms, whose combined m-cap declined by a whopping Rs 21,431 crore on August 20, days after the quarterly results of the telecom arm were announced on July 29.
Ravinder Takkar, currently Vodafone Group’s representative in India, will be appointed as the new MD and CEO with immediate effect, the company said in a statement.
For Vodafone-Idea, the recovery hinges on network integration, cash position say analysts and the telco is well placed to realize full OpEx synergy of Rs 8,400 crore by June 2020 says its management.
Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd on Monday cracked over 29 per cent after the company's first quarter revenue as well as subscriber base declined.
The Digital Communications Commission, the telecom department's apex decision-making body, on Wednesday approved imposing cumulative penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Jio.
The CCEA has also approved to take on record the proposed changes in the indirect foreign investment in the subsidiaries of VIL that will take place on account of non-residents subscribing to the equity shares in the fund raise, an official statement said.
The service providers have been issued show-cause notice to explain their position including reasons for non-compliance.
Talking of speed, Airtel turned out to be the fastest mobile operator in India during the review period regardless of the customer in LTE or not.
The promoter shareholders have also said that in case the rights issue is under-subscribed, each of the promoter shareholders reserves the right to subscribe to part or whole of the unsubscribed portion.
Vodafone Idea, along with Bharti Airtel, has requested the government to defer spectrum payment instalments with a two-year moratorium given the losses that these players are facing.
The company plans to reduce the number of its distributors from around 43,000 to 27,000 by December.
The combination will have all India revenue market share of 32.2 per cent and take the numero uno slot in nine telecom circles, it said adding that both Vodafone and Idea brands will continue.
"As India prepares to define its path to 5G, we at Idea are building the foundation by adding Nokia's cloud core capabilities,'' said Anil Tandan, Chief Technology Officer at Idea.
The move comes just days after Idea Cellular and Vodafone India made a joint payment of Rs 7,268.78 crore 'under protest' to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for merging their mobile business.
The merger is set to create the country’s largest mobile services operator. The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.
Earlier on Friday, the Aditya Birla group firm said that the new entity born out of the Idea-Vodafone merger is proposed to be named Vodafone Idea.
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