Vodafone Idea awards Rs.30,000 crore contracts to Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for 4G and 5G gear supply

Vodafone Idea awards largest telecom deal in India to Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung

Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea on Sunday said it has awarded contracts worth about Rs.30,000 crore to Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for supply of 4G and 5G network equipment for three years. This is the largest deal awarded by any Indian telecom operator during this year. The deal also marks the first step towards the roll-out of the company’s three-year capex (capital expenditure) plan of about USD 6.6 billion or Rs.55,000 crore announced earlier.

“Vodafone Idea (VIL) has concluded a mega, about USD 3.6 billion (around Rs.300 billion), deal with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for supply of network equipment over a period of three years. The capex programme is directed towards expanding the 4G population coverage from 1.03 billion to 1.2 billion, launching 5G in key markets and capacity expansion in line with data growth,” the company said in a statement.

The supplies against these new long-term awards will start in the coming quarter. The top priority for the company is to expand the 4G coverage to 1.2 billion Indians, the statement said. VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra said that the company has started the investment cycle and it is on the journey of VIL 2.0.

“From here on, VIL will stage a smart turnaround to effectively participate in the industry growth opportunities. Nokia and Ericsson have been our partners since our inception and this marks another milestone in that continuing partnership. We are pleased to start our new partnership with Samsung. We look forward to working closely with all our partners as we move into the 5G era,” Moondra said.

Vodafone Idea (VIL) was the biggest telecom operator formed with the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in August 2018 with a mobile subscriber base of 40.8 crore. With a continuous decline in subscribers, VIL is now left with 21.5 crore mobile services subscribers as per the latest data released by telecom regulator TRAI. VIL had recently raised Rs.24,000 crore through the sale of equity and will fund the capital expenditure from the latest capital.

The company claimed that it has started witnessing an improvement in customer experience in select geographies where these roll-outs have been completed. VIL holds a large spectrum portfolio including a mid-band 5G spectrum in 17 circles and millimeter wave 5G spectrum in 16 circles. After the Rs.24,000 crore fundraises, including Rs.18,000 crore through a follow-on offer, the company was reeling under the debt of around Rs.2.14 lakh crore.

The company had payment obligations of Rs.2,09,520 crore towards the government as of June 30, 2024, which included the deferred spectrum payment obligations and adjusted gross revenue liability.

Post Rs.24,000 crore fundraise, VIL promoters Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone hold 37.3 percent and the government 23.2 percent stake in the company.

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.

The post Vodafone Idea awards Rs.30,000 crore contracts to Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for 4G and 5G gear supply appeared first on PGurus.