Vodafone Idea expected to come up with revival plan within a month: Report

In an interview, telecom secretary K Rajaraman said that the return of Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla group, to the board of the ailing telco is a 'positive step'

After the Centre's acquisition of equity in the struggling telecom company, Vodafone Idea is expected to come up with a revival plan within a month, telecom secretary K Rajaraman said, as reported by Mint.

In an interview, Rajaraman said that the return of Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla group, to the board of the ailing telco is a "positive step" and the telco is in talks with several institutions to raise capital for its 5G rollout plans.

"We keep getting monthly reports on their subscriber base and other parameters, but what we want them to do is to come back with resources – equity and debt – and we're awaiting a final communication from them. And now that Mr Birla is back on the board, I'm hopeful they will revert to us soon with their plan," Rajaraman was quoted in the report as saying.

As of September 2022, the company has a debt of Rs 2.2 trillion. In February, the Centre had decided to convert adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of the company of Rs 16,133.3 crore into equities and become its largest shareholder.

Rajaraman said that the only objective of the step was to ensure a sufficient number of competitors are in the market and that the telco revives.

He further added that the Centre is preparing for the next spectrum auction in the second half of 2023-24 (FY24) and it may include the unsold spectrum from previous auctions and new bands.

"We have some unsold spectrum already, for instance, in the 600MHz band. In addition to that, there are some candidate bands that can be introduced. We are in the final stages of discussions, and we may make a reference to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) within a month or two," he told Mint.