Vodafone Idea (Vi) has made a payment to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The payment was 10% amount of the total statutory dues owed by the telco for the June quarter of 2023. Vi has assured the government that it will pay off the remaining amount by the end of September 2023. According to a TOI report, the telco will make the payment to the government with interest over the amount that has not been paid already. The government remains hopeful that Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) will make the complete payment as it has done so in the previous quarters.
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As per the report, VIL is said to have a statutory liability of Rs 700 crore. The amount includes both the spectrum usage charges and license fees. VIL's promoters have not yet stepped in to infuse any further major capital into the company. This is why, in the current shareholding pattern, the Indian government remains the largest stakeholder in the company. Vi had decided to give up equity in the company to the govt against the reduction of interest amount accruing on the deferred statutory dues.
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The report added that the government is "desperately" waiting for the promoters to infuse more capital into the company. Recently, there were reports around VIL closing in on funding, but nothing has happened on that end. The telco's promoter entity (most likely the Aditya Birla Group) has said that it would pitch around Rs 2000 crore in case of any need to urgently pay off dues by Vi. However, the amount is just not enough and VIL needs to raise meaningful funds to ensure its survival.
Being the third-largest telecom operator, VIL has not yet given proper returns to its investors. The telco is losing customers every quarter and its average revenue per user (ARPU) growth is too slow. It has a lot to do with how fewer 4G customers are in the network of the telco compared to its competitors. VIL's 4G subscriber addition pace is not meaningful for the growth of the company. To keep growing its network and adding customers along with paying off dues, Vi is in need of major fundraising.
