Vodafone Idea pays 50% license, spectrum usage charges for March quarter

11 Sep 2023 , 10:55 AM

According to the reports, Vodafone Idea (VI) has paid half of the licensing and spectrum usage fee (SUC) dues for the March quarter. Furthermore, VI has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that 90% of the dues for the June quarter, along with interest, will be cleared in stages.

According to government authorities, if the telco meets its payment obligations, the DoT will not invoke the bank guarantees. However, in the event of failure, the guarantees will be cashed, according to DoT officials. According to the officials, the DoT has yet to meet with any possible investors in the company.

‘There may be some movement on external funding once the company gets Rs 2,000 crore funding from the company,’ stated another source.

As VI has been paying interest for the delay, the government has granted many extensions on statutory payments. In addition, as part of the telecom changes, the provisions for assessing penalties were removed.

In the last two years, Vodafone Idea has struggled to generate funding, hampering its capacity to expand its 4G network and begin the 5G deployment. The VI’s lack of funding issues drags it in comparison to competitors such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

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