Voda Idea pays Rs 1,367 cr to govt towards licence, spectrum charges

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea has submitted about Rs 1,367 crore to the government as licence fee and spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the March quarter, PTI reported.

Officials said that the telecom department has received the payment made by Vodafone Idea, and added that other operators had made their payments earlier. When contacted, Vodafone Idea spokesperson declined to comment on the latest payment.

The payment comes aid report that the telecom sector will not be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, however,  past dues of Rs 90,000 crore continue to create uncertainty for the sector in these times. 

The telcos still owes Rs 90,000 crore in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, and there is a lack of clarity on how the money needs to be paid - whether staggered or at a go, domestic rating agency Icra said.

There will not be any major impact of the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 on telecom services, the agency said. Pressure on revenues on account of limited customer addition, along with lack of physical recharges is moderated by the increased mobile usage on account of work from the home regime as well as content viewing, in addition, to shift towards digital recharges, it said.

Meanwhile, Voda Idea has added network capacity to cater to the rising demand for data in Delhi-NCR, amid the ongoing lockdown. The sites upgraded will facilitate better indoor network experience and enhance network speed in Delhi-NCR. The company is geared to handle the increase in demand from customers who are confined within their homes, heavily dependent on network connectivity to work, study, access essential services online, stay informed and entertained, it added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had announced that the current lockdown will be extended till May 3.