Vodafone Idea (Vi) is soon going to launch 5G, at least this is what the government expects. The cash strapped telco recently received a good news that it can finally go ahead and convert the dues into equity for the government. Vi can now look ahead and evaluate its fundraising options. The telco needs money to place commercial orders for 5G rollout with the vendors such as Nokia and Ericsson. According to an ET report, the govt is expecting Vi to soon start rolling out 5G in India.
Also Read: Vi Partners with Motorola for 5G Support on Phones, But Yet to Launch 5G
Vi has to Meet Minimum Rollout Obligations
As per the government guidelines, Vi has to meet certain minimum 5G rollout obligations otherwise it would have to pay penalty or return back the spectrum to government that it got for 5G rollout. As per the govt, a telco that has bagged spectrum in the 5G auctions of 2022 has to rollout 5G in three metro cities (any area of the city) and in at least one area of all 22 telecom circles within 52 weeks.
As per the report, telecom secretary K Rajaraman said that the govt has sold the spectrum to the telco and now they expect the company to meet minimum rollout obligations.
Also Read: Vodafone Idea to Ask for Fresh Loans from Banks
It is worth nothing that Vodafone Idea has not said anything officially about the 5G launch so far. Without funds, the telco would not be able to rollout 5G. So the next step for it is to either raise funds through loans or through equity from private investors.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, union telecom minister of India said that the reason why the government went ahead with the dues to equity conversion right now is because of the promise that the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) made. ABG has promised the government that it would bring the necessary investments for the company which it desperately needs.
