Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, the two leading telecom operators in India are gaining users of the competition. This has led many to believe that eventually, India will head towards a duopoly. However, the government will not let that happen, at least that's what the intention is. Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third private operator has been trying to survive with a mountain load of debt on its shoulders for years. To help Vi, government took equity in the company and reduced its dues against it. But that hasn't cut out the problems for Vi.
Read More - Tata Play Fiber 100 Mbps Lite Plan Offers 4 OTTs
The government is still working on ways to help Vi. On that note, Jyotiraditya Scindia, union telecom minister of India, said that it is not good enough for India to have only two major telecom players or a duopoly. Scindia affirmed that India must have competition in every sector, as per a report from MoneyControl.
Vodafone Idea owes the Indian government around Rs 84,000 crore in AGR (adusted gross revenue) dues. This has become a bottleneck for Vi to be able to raise funds via debt. The government is likely going to come up with a solution to address the issue. Once that happens, things should ease out for Vi on the fundraising front.
Read More - MediaTek Dimensity 8450 Unveiled: Check Here
Apart from Vi, the government is also trying to revive BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited). The state-run telecom company is trying to win back customers and retain the current ones by rolling out 4G in every part of the country. Apart from this, BSNL has also announced Q-5G FWA (fixed-wireless access) services.
India doesn't really have a duopoly at the moment. But if things don't improve for Vi and BSNL, it will eventually lead the market that way.
