Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom player in the country, has announced its intentions to pay the instalment dues for the 5G spectrum it acquired in 2022. In a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Vi said that it proposes to pay Rs 1,680 crore for the 5G spectrum instalment, which is due on August 17, 2023. But the telco wants to avail the grace period of 30 days for making the payment and has said that it is ready to pay the interest on it as well. The request for a grace period is in line with the terms of the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) dated June 15, 2022, for the Auction of Spectrum.
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In a separate announcement, Vodafone Idea also said that a promoter group entity has confirmed that in case there's any fund requirement for meeting the impending payment obligations by the company, it shall provide direct or indirect financial support to the extent of Rs 2,000 crore.
It is most likely the communication from the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) because the Vodafone Group UK has already said that they are now carrying the book value of Vi as nil. Vodafone Group doesn't really have any expectations left from their Indian unit. But the ABG has been in constant touch with the company and has also been talking with the government for support.
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The said amount that the promoter is ready to provide Vi with to clear impending dues is likely going towards the payment of the spectrum instalment with interest. Vodafone Idea recently announced its quarterly results, where the telco posted a loss of Rs 7,840 crore. The external investors are likely waiting for the promoters to step up in a significant manner for the company so that they can assess the situation and make up their minds about whether they want to invest or not.
