Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator in India, has only added 4 million 4G subscribers in four quarters. The cash-strapped telecom operator had 126 million 4G users at the end of Q3 FY24. In the same quarter of the previous financial year (Q3 FY23), Vi had 122 million 4G users. While the telco's overall subscriber base is depleting fast, its 4G user base is not growing fast enough, especially when compared with that of Airtel and Jio.
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For the same quarter, Airtel said that its 4G data customers went up by 28.9 million YoY. As for the case of Jio, the telco only has 4G/5G customers, thus, every customer that it has added is a 4G customer only. For Vi, the legacy network users aren't adding much value to the business. Legacy network users are low-paying customers that don't require data services.
While Vi has shut down 3G and refarmed the spectrum for 4G services, the telco still has to serve millions of 2G customers. Vi's average revenue per user (ARPU) figure grew from Rs 135 to Rs 145 in four quarters. While the growth seems decent on paper, in the ground reality, when compared with Jio and Airtel, the growth is extremely slow.
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The revenues have also stayed flat for Vi. It has been in the range of Rs 106 - Rs 107 billion for the last four quarters, while the EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) has slightly improved. The telco has decided to raise Rs 45,000 crore through a mix of equity and debt.
Vi's promoter, Aditya Birla Group, is likely going to pitch in with additional capital to help Vi with its fundraising goals. The telco might also raise funds through debt from lenders. The bank dues of Vi have come down significantly at a rapid pace, but it is the statutory dues that has placed the telco in a tricky situation.
