Vodafone Idea Ltd said on Saturday it was assessing how much it would pay the Indian government as part of dues owed and said it proposed making a payment in the next few days.

India ordered mobile carriers on Friday to immediately pay billions of dollars in dues after the Supreme Court threatened the companies and officials with contempt proceedings for failing to implement an earlier ruling.

The move threatens the survival of Vodafone Idea, a joint venture between Britain`s Vodafone Group Plc and India`s Idea Cellular, as the unit is saddled with about $3.9 billion in overdue payments.

"The Company is currently assessing the amount that it will be able to pay to DoT (Department of Telecommunications) towards the dues calculated," Vodafone said in a statement. "The Company proposes to pay the amount so assessed in the next few days."

Vodafone did not give details of the amount it was likely to pay. A company spokesman declined to provide details on funding for the payment.

Underscoring its vulnerability, the company said its ability to continue essentially hinged on the Supreme Court granting it permission to discuss issues like timelines for payments with the government.

Analysts have increasingly called into doubt the viability of Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Group has said it has no plans to commit any more equity into India and the Indian telco has clocked losses in the last six quarters due to intense competition.

"Recent developments raise serious concerns about Vodafone Idea`s survival," Rajiv Sharma, analyst with SBI Cap Securities, said in a note on Friday.

Some analysts predict that India`s large market will likely have only two telecom players - Airtel and Reliance Jio, which is backed by Asia`s richest man, Mukesh Ambani - if the government does not intervene to provide some relief.

"We believe this makes duopoly almost certain in the absence of government intervention. Chances of government intervention are slim, but it cannot be ruled out," Pranav Kshatriya of Edelweiss said.

Bharti Airtel said on Friday it would pay 100 billion rupees to the government by Thursday, while it would pay the rest before the next Supreme Court hearing on March 17.

"We see this event as a net positive for Bharti Airtel (Bharti) as although it will have to pay 356 billion rupees towards liabilities, the decimation of (a) weak operator will significantly enhance its market share," Kshatriya said.

Vodafone Idea Ltd said on Saturday it was assessing how much it would pay the Indian government as part of dues owed and said it proposed making a payment in the next few days.

Vodafone Idea Ltd said on Saturday it was assessing how much it would pay the Indian government as part of dues owed and said it proposed making a payment in the next few days. India ordered mobile carriers on Friday to immediately pay billions of dollars in dues after the Supreme Court threatened the companies and officials with contempt proceedings for failing to implement an earlier ruling. The move threatens the survival of Vodafone Idea, a joint venture between Britain`s Vodafone Group Plc and India`s Idea Cellular, as the unit is saddled with about $3.9 billion in overdue payments. "The Company is currently assessing the amount that it will be able to pay to DoT (Department of Telecommunications) towards the dues calculated," Vodafone said in a statement. "The Company proposes to pay the amount so assessed in the next few days." Vodafone did not give details of the amount it was likely to pay. A company spokesman declined to provide details on funding for the payment. Underscoring its vulnerability, the company said its ability to continue essentially hinged on the Supreme Court granting it permission to discuss issues like timelines for payments with the government. Analysts have increasingly called into doubt the viability of Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Group has said it has no plans to commit any more equity into India and the Indian telco has clocked losses in the last six quarters due to intense competition. "Recent developments raise serious concerns about Vodafone Idea`s survival," Rajiv Sharma, analyst with SBI Cap Securities, said in a note on Friday. Some analysts predict that India`s large market will likely have only two telecom players - Airtel and Reliance Jio, which is backed by Asia`s richest man, Mukesh Ambani - if the government does not intervene to provide some relief. "We believe this makes duopoly almost certain in the absence of government intervention. Chances of government intervention are slim, but it cannot be ruled out," Pranav Kshatriya of Edelweiss said. Bharti Airtel said on Friday it would pay 100 billion rupees to the government by Thursday, while it would pay the rest before the next Supreme Court hearing on March 17. "We see this event as a net positive for Bharti Airtel (Bharti) as although it will have to pay 356 billion rupees towards liabilities, the decimation of (a) weak operator will significantly enhance its market share," Kshatriya said.

Currently assessing the amount; will make payment in next few days: Vodafone

The Indian telecom department issued orders directing telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone to clear dues before Friday (February 14) midnight.

Indian govt asks telecom companies to pay Rs 1.47 lakh cr

After Supreme Court rap, the Department of Telecommunications has ordered firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear dues before Friday midnight.

The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms, an order seen by PTI said.

The order asked telcos to clear dues by 11.59 pm Friday.

Earlier in the day, the telecom department has withdrawn its order that asked for no coercive action against telecom companies defaulting on statutory dues payment after the Supreme Court on Friday took a strong view of non-compliance with its order.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/in-major-setback-telecom-operators-to-pay-rs-92000-crore-as-dues-to-telecom-department-as-supreme-court-rejects-review-plea-274701">Telecom operators to pay Rs 92,000 crore as dues to telecom department, SC rejects review plea&nbsp;</a>

Sources said that the DoT withdrew its order earlier today.

The department's move came after the Supreme Court directed the managing directors and directors of telcos and other firms to explain why contempt action be not taken against them for non-compliance of its order to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of Rs 1.47 lakh crore to the Department of Telecommunications.

Taking strong note of the non-compliance of its order, a bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice M R Shah expressed anguish over the order passed by DoT's desk officer, staying the effect of its verdict in AGR matter.&nbsp;

After Supreme Court rap, the Department of Telecommunications has ordered firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear dues before Friday midnight. The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms, an order seen by PTI said.

After Supreme Court rap, the Department of Telecommunications has ordered firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear dues before Friday midnight. The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms, an order seen by PTI said. The order asked telcos to clear dues by 11.59 pm Friday. Earlier in the day, the telecom department has withdrawn its order that asked for no coercive action against telecom companies defaulting on statutory dues payment after the Supreme Court on Friday took a strong view of non-compliance with its order. Also read: Telecom operators to pay Rs 92,000 crore as dues to telecom department, SC rejects review plea Sources said that the DoT withdrew its order earlier today. The department's move came after the Supreme Court directed the managing directors and directors of telcos and other firms to explain why contempt action be not taken against them for non-compliance of its order to pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of Rs 1.47 lakh crore to the Department of Telecommunications. Taking strong note of the non-compliance of its order, a bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice M R Shah expressed anguish over the order passed by DoT's desk officer, staying the effect of its verdict in AGR matter.

DoT asks telcos to clear dues by midnight, withdraws 'no coercive action against defaulters' 

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea received a setback from the Supreme Court on Thursday, rejecting its plea, seeking a review of its earlier order to pay ₹ 92,000 crores till 23 January.

Supreme Court rejects plea of telecom giants, to review over order for paying Rs 92K Cr to govt

A day after the Supreme Court rejected the review petitions filed byvarious telecom companies over the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case, Vodafone stocks sank thirty-nine per cent on Friday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/in-major-setback-telecom-operators-to-pay-rs-92000-crore-as-dues-to-telecom-department-as-supreme-court-rejects-review-plea-274701">Also Read:&nbsp;Telecom operators to pay Rs 92,000 crore as dues to telecom department</a>

Vodafone's share price collapsed 39 per cent to 3.65 rupees before it&nbsp;recovered to 4.60 rupees which weighed on the market with the Sensex shedding 0.16 per cent to 41,866.16 in morning trade.

After the bloodbath, Vodafone shares&nbsp;closed 25.21 per cent lower at Rs 4.51 on the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE).

The Sensex, however, ended 12.81 points higher at 41,945.37, while Nifty closed 3.10 points lower at 12,352.40.

Last year, India's top court had granted three months to telecom operators to clear their dues with top companies - Reliance, Bharti Airtel owing the telecom department Rs 92,000 and another 41,000 crore to Department of telecom(DoT). According to the court, Vodafone-Idea has to pay Rs 28,000 crore (license fees of Rs 6,900 crore and the balance is interest and penalty) over the next three months to the government.

In November, Vodafone had recorded the biggest loss in corporate history with $7.13 billion in the second quarter till September as the company continued to bleed.

According to the TRAI, Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel had lost 14.5 million and 15.1 million mobile subscribers in March last year. Interestingly, the customer base of Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani was 306.7 million in March 2019, against 297.2 million as on February.

A day after the Supreme Court rejected the review petitions filed byvarious telecom companies over the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case, Vodafone stocks sank thirty-nine per cent on Friday.

A day after the Supreme Court rejected the review petitions filed byvarious telecom companies over the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) case, Vodafone stocks sank thirty-nine per cent on Friday. Also Read: Telecom operators to pay Rs 92,000 crore as dues to telecom department Vodafone's share price collapsed 39 per cent to 3.65 rupees before it recovered to 4.60 rupees which weighed on the market with the Sensex shedding 0.16 per cent to 41,866.16 in morning trade. After the bloodbath, Vodafone shares closed 25.21 per cent lower at Rs 4.51 on the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE). The Sensex, however, ended 12.81 points higher at 41,945.37, while Nifty closed 3.10 points lower at 12,352.40. Last year, India's top court had granted three months to telecom operators to clear their dues with top companies - Reliance, Bharti Airtel owing the telecom department Rs 92,000 and another 41,000 crore to Department of telecom(DoT). According to the court, Vodafone-Idea has to pay Rs 28,000 crore (license fees of Rs 6,900 crore and the balance is interest and penalty) over the next three months to the government. In November, Vodafone had recorded the biggest loss in corporate history with $7.13 billion in the second quarter till September as the company continued to bleed. According to the TRAI, Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel had lost 14.5 million and 15.1 million mobile subscribers in March last year. Interestingly, the customer base of Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani was 306.7 million in March 2019, against 297.2 million as on February.

Day after Supreme Court verdict, Vodafone stocks crash to record low

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio have hiked their tariffs by about 40 per cent after incurring huge losses over the last few weeks.

Bharti Airtel on Sunday hiked tariff rate in the range of 50 paise per day to Rs 2.85 per day, effective from December 3. 
 
The company announced new plans, which will affect the Airtel pre-paid customers who avail the plans provided by the company under its "unlimited" category, among others.&nbsp; 
 
"Our new mobile plans offer tremendous value to our customers and are backed by a superior network experience on Airtel's nationwide 4G network. Airtel will continue to make large investments in emerging technologies and digital platforms to deliver world-class experiences to our customers," said Shashwat Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel. 
 
According to the release, Airtel's new plans will offer "exclusive benefits as part of the Airtel Thanks platform" to its customers.

Vodafone Idea also announced a similar plan, with plans capping at 2 days, 28 days, 84 days, and 365 days of validity and prices varying from Rs 19-2399.

Similarly, Jio will be introducing the new 'ALL-IN-ONE' plans with unlimited voice and data, effective from December 6. 
 
"Jio will be introducing new ALL-IN-ONE plans with unlimited voice and data. These plans will have a fair usage policy for calls to other mobile networks. 
The new plans will be effective from December 6, 2019," the statement informed. 
 
"Although the NEW ALL-IN-ONE plans will be priced up to 40 per cent higher, staying true to its promise of being customer first, Jio customers will get up to 300 per cent more benefits," the statement added. 
 
The company said that while remaining committed to the ultimate interest of the consumer, "Jio will take all necessary steps to help sustain the Indian telecommunications industry." 
 
The statement stressed that Jio will continue to work with the government on the consultation process for the revision of telecom tariffs and looks forward to participation from all other stakeholders.

The hike in tariffs comes after VIL, and Bharti Airtel posted record quarterly losses of ₹50,922 crore and ₹23,045 crore respectively due to a Supreme Court ruling on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

Both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel also have an outstanding debt of over ₹1 lakh crore each.&nbsp;

The three telecommunication giants account for over 90 per cent market share of 1.18 billion mobile subscribers.

(With inputs from agencies)

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio have hiked their tariffs by about 40 per cent after incurring huge losses over the last few weeks. Bharti Airtel on Sunday hiked tariff rate in the range of 50 paise per day to Rs 2.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio have hiked their tariffs by about 40 per cent after incurring huge losses over the last few weeks. Bharti Airtel on Sunday hiked tariff rate in the range of 50 paise per day to Rs 2.85 per day, effective from December 3. The company announced new plans, which will affect the Airtel pre-paid customers who avail the plans provided by the company under its "unlimited" category, among others. "Our new mobile plans offer tremendous value to our customers and are backed by a superior network experience on Airtel's nationwide 4G network. Airtel will continue to make large investments in emerging technologies and digital platforms to deliver world-class experiences to our customers," said Shashwat Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Airtel. According to the release, Airtel's new plans will offer "exclusive benefits as part of the Airtel Thanks platform" to its customers. Vodafone Idea also announced a similar plan, with plans capping at 2 days, 28 days, 84 days, and 365 days of validity and prices varying from Rs 19-2399. Similarly, Jio will be introducing the new 'ALL-IN-ONE' plans with unlimited voice and data, effective from December 6. "Jio will be introducing new ALL-IN-ONE plans with unlimited voice and data. These plans will have a fair usage policy for calls to other mobile networks. The new plans will be effective from December 6, 2019," the statement informed. "Although the NEW ALL-IN-ONE plans will be priced up to 40 per cent higher, staying true to its promise of being customer first, Jio customers will get up to 300 per cent more benefits," the statement added. The company said that while remaining committed to the ultimate interest of the consumer, "Jio will take all necessary steps to help sustain the Indian telecommunications industry." The statement stressed that Jio will continue to work with the government on the consultation process for the revision of telecom tariffs and looks forward to participation from all other stakeholders. The hike in tariffs comes after VIL, and Bharti Airtel posted record quarterly losses of ₹50,922 crore and ₹23,045 crore respectively due to a Supreme Court ruling on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel also have an outstanding debt of over ₹1 lakh crore each. The three telecommunication giants account for over 90 per cent market share of 1.18 billion mobile subscribers. (With inputs from agencies)

Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio hike prepaid prices by 40%

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, driven by banking and telecom stocks after two major mobile network service providers said they planned to raise tariffs from next month.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.2 per cent&nbsp;to 11,906.25, while the S&amp;P BSE Sensex gained 0.4 per cent&nbsp;to 40,455.36.

"Markets are in a consolidation phase after the recent rally," said A.K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.

The Nifty main index has risen over 12 per cent&nbsp;since hitting a six-month low mid-August, supported by government measures to boost investor confidence as Asia's third-largest economy faces slowdown.

Tariff hike announcements by telecom companies will benefit banks as they have a huge exposure to the sector, Prabhakar said.

On Monday, Bharti <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/airtel-vodafone-idea-shares-jump-after-on-hopes-of-govt-help-262309">Airtel and Vodafone</a> Idea said they would increase mobile tariffs from December, after posting record quarterly losses.

Airtel shares rose 4.8 per cent&nbsp;and were among the top gainers in the Nifty index, while Vodafone shares jumped 18 per cent.

Banking and IT stocks led gains, rising 0.2 per cent&nbsp;to 0.4 per cent.

The Nifty has an immediate support in the range of 11,700-11,800, said Amit&nbsp;Shah, technical research analyst with Indiabulls Ventures, in a note.

The index is poised to hit an all-time high above the 12,100 zone, Shah added.

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, driven by banking and telecom stocks after two major mobile network service providers said they planned to raise tariffs from next month.

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, driven by banking and telecom stocks after two major mobile network service providers said they planned to raise tariffs from next month. The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.2 per cent to 11,906.25, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4 per cent to 40,455.36. "Markets are in a consolidation phase after the recent rally," said A.K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital. The Nifty main index has risen over 12 per cent since hitting a six-month low mid-August, supported by government measures to boost investor confidence as Asia's third-largest economy faces slowdown. Tariff hike announcements by telecom companies will benefit banks as they have a huge exposure to the sector, Prabhakar said. On Monday, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea said they would increase mobile tariffs from December, after posting record quarterly losses. Airtel shares rose 4.8 per cent and were among the top gainers in the Nifty index, while Vodafone shares jumped 18 per cent. Banking and IT stocks led gains, rising 0.2 per cent to 0.4 per cent. The Nifty has an immediate support in the range of 11,700-11,800, said Amit Shah, technical research analyst with Indiabulls Ventures, in a note. The index is poised to hit an all-time high above the 12,100 zone, Shah added.

Nifty, Sensex edge higher; bank, telecom stocks gain

Indian shares inched higher on Tuesday, driven by banking and telecom stocks after two major mobile network service providers said they planned to raise tariffs from next month. The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.2% to 11,906.25, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4% to 40,455.36. "Markets are in a consolidation phase after the recent rally," said A.K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital. The Nifty main index has risen over 12% since hitting a six-month low mid-August, supported by government measures to boost investor confidence as Asia's third-largest economy faces slowdown. Tariff hike announcements by telecom companies will benefit banks as they have huge exposure to the sector, Prabhakar said. On Monday, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea said they would increase mobile tariffs from December, after posting record quarterly losses. Airtel shares rose 4.8% and were among the top gainers in the Nifty index, while Vodafone shares jumped 18%. Banking and IT stocks led gains, rising 0.2% to 0.4%. The Nifty has an immediate support in the range of 11,700-11,800, said Amit Shah, technical research analyst with Indiabulls Ventures, in a note. The index is poised to hit an all-time high above the 12,100 zone, Shah added.

Nifty, Sensex edge higher driven by banking, telecom stocks

In October this year, a World Economic Forum report&nbsp;highlighted that the average data cost in India is lower than any other country in the world. However,&nbsp;this might not be the scenario from next month.

Two of the country's biggest telecom players have announced that they will be increasing their mobile data rates&nbsp;from December 1.

The announcement came after Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel declared losses of about 10 billion dollars in their second quarter.

The companies haven't declared the quantum of the hikes yet.

This is the first time that these companies are increasing their data prices in more than three years.&nbsp;But, why are the companies doing so?

Three years ago, Reliance Jio's entry into the telecom market led to a disruption in the sector after they offered drastically reduced&nbsp;data prices which subsequently led to a price war among the telecom companies.

Recently, Jio started charging 6-paise a minute for calls made to a rival’s network in order to improve its operating performance.

Another reason for the recent data hike is, the Indian government and telecom operators were locked in a legal tussle over the definition of adjusted gross revenue.

In October, the Supreme Court ruled in the government's favour asked companies to pay&nbsp;Rs 92,000 cr to government.

This is a monumental sum;&nbsp;and, to pay this kind of money, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, had to set aside a huge sum. Meaning, their liabilities now run into thousands of crores.

According to a report, Bharti Airtel may face liabilities of a whopping Rs 62187 crores and Vodafone Idea may have to pay about Rs 54184 crores.

Both companies have said that they have no choice but to hike prices if customers want to continue to enjoy world-class digital experiences.

Meanwhile, soon after the announcement of tariff hikes,&nbsp;shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd surged resulting in Vodafone recording best one-day gain ever.

Airtel's shares closed up 7.37%, their highest since January last year, while Vodafone's stock ended 35.96% higher and recorded its best one-day gain ever during the day's trade.

In October this year, a World Economic Forum report highlighted that the average data cost in India is lower than any other country in the world. However, this might not be the scenario from next month.

In October this year, a World Economic Forum report highlighted that the average data cost in India is lower than any other country in the world. However, this might not be the scenario from next month. Two of the country's biggest telecom players have announced that they will be increasing their mobile data rates from December 1. The announcement came after Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel declared losses of about 10 billion dollars in their second quarter. The companies haven't declared the quantum of the hikes yet. This is the first time that these companies are increasing their data prices in more than three years. But, why are the companies doing so? Three years ago, Reliance Jio's entry into the telecom market led to a disruption in the sector after they offered drastically reduced data prices which subsequently led to a price war among the telecom companies. Recently, Jio started charging 6-paise a minute for calls made to a rival’s network in order to improve its operating performance. Another reason for the recent data hike is, the Indian government and telecom operators were locked in a legal tussle over the definition of adjusted gross revenue. In October, the Supreme Court ruled in the government's favour asked companies to pay Rs 92,000 cr to government. This is a monumental sum; and, to pay this kind of money, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, had to set aside a huge sum. Meaning, their liabilities now run into thousands of crores. According to a report, Bharti Airtel may face liabilities of a whopping Rs 62187 crores and Vodafone Idea may have to pay about Rs 54184 crores. Both companies have said that they have no choice but to hike prices if customers want to continue to enjoy world-class digital experiences. Meanwhile, soon after the announcement of tariff hikes, shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd surged resulting in Vodafone recording best one-day gain ever. Airtel's shares closed up 7.37%, their highest since January last year, while Vodafone's stock ended 35.96% higher and recorded its best one-day gain ever during the day's trade.

Mobile data to become expensive as Indian telecom companies to hike tariffs

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Indian mobile carrier Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported the biggest quarterly loss in India's corporate history after making provisions for outstanding government dues.

Vodafone Idea, made up of the local unit of Vodafone Group Plc and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's Idea Cellular, reported a consolidated net loss of 509 billion rupees ($7.13 billion) in the second quarter to September.

The company took a charge of 256.78 billion rupees for the quarter after India's Supreme Court last month upheld a demand by the telecoms department that wireless carriers pay 920 billion rupees in overdue levies and interest.

Vodafone Idea and rival Bharti Airtel, two of India's three main mobile carriers, will have to pay a bulk of this state demand.

Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of 230.45 billion rupees ($3.23 billion) in three months to September.

Bharti said it made a provision of 284.50 billion rupees, more than 92% of the overall charge for exceptional items, after the Supreme Court ruling.

Telecom providers in India pay the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) nearly 3-5% of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in usage charges for spectrum or airwaves and 8% of AGR as licence fees.

The DoT and the mobile carriers have been at odds over the definition of AGR. The companies argue that AGR should comprise just revenue accrued from core services, while the DoT says AGR should include all revenue.

The Supreme Court last month upheld the DoT's view on AGR.

Vodafone Idea said it was in active discussions with the government seeking financial relief and also in the process of filing a review petition with the Supreme Court.

"It is to be noted that our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on obtaining the reliefs from the government... and positive outcome of the proposed legal remedy," Vodafone Idea said in a statement.

The company's gross debt at end-Sept. stood at 1.17 trillion rupees. Analysts have previously warned that Vodafone Idea will be the worst hit after the Supreme Court ruling given its already stretched balance sheet.

"Vodafone results are a reflection of the company’s inability to compete effectively in a three-player market," said Deepa Dasani of HDFC Securities.

"Apart from its impact on its equity value, this result will surely result in wider financial repercussions because it will hit the lenders and debt investors in the company, including mutual funds."

Analysts on average expected Vodafone Idea to report a consolidated net loss of 44.22 billion rupees for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data, although those figures did not include the charge.

The wireless carrier had posted a net loss of 49.74 billion rupees a year ago.

Vodafone Idea's consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter rose 41.4% year-on-year to 108.44 billion rupees.

On Thursday, Vodafone Idea said it plans to sell its 11.15% stake in mobile mast operator Indus Towers once its merger with Bharti Infratel receives regulatory clearances.

Bharti Airtel's MD and CEO, India &amp; South Asia, Gopal Vittal said: "We continue to engage with the government and are evaluating various options available to us."

"We are hopeful that the government will take a considerate view in this matter given the fragile state of the industry," Gobal said.

Analysts on average expected Bharti Airtel to report a loss of 11.16 billion rupees for the three months to the end of September, according to Refinitiv data.

Bharti, which runs operations in South Asia and Africa, said its Indian revenue rose 3% year-on-year to 153.61 billion rupees.

Earlier on Thursday, Singapore-based Singtel posted a second-quarter loss of S$668 million ($491.29 million) hurt by a one-time charge recorded by Bharti.

Singtel is the biggest shareholder in Bharti Airtel, with an effective stake of about 35%.

Indian mobile carrier Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported the biggest quarterly loss in India's corporate history after making provisions for outstanding government dues.

Indian mobile carrier Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported the biggest quarterly loss in India's corporate history after making provisions for outstanding government dues. Vodafone Idea, made up of the local unit of Vodafone Group Plc and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's Idea Cellular, reported a consolidated net loss of 509 billion rupees ($7.13 billion) in the second quarter to September. The company took a charge of 256.78 billion rupees for the quarter after India's Supreme Court last month upheld a demand by the telecoms department that wireless carriers pay 920 billion rupees in overdue levies and interest. Vodafone Idea and rival Bharti Airtel, two of India's three main mobile carriers, will have to pay a bulk of this state demand. Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of 230.45 billion rupees ($3.23 billion) in three months to September. Bharti said it made a provision of 284.50 billion rupees, more than 92% of the overall charge for exceptional items, after the Supreme Court ruling. Telecom providers in India pay the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) nearly 3-5% of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in usage charges for spectrum or airwaves and 8% of AGR as licence fees. The DoT and the mobile carriers have been at odds over the definition of AGR. The companies argue that AGR should comprise just revenue accrued from core services, while the DoT says AGR should include all revenue. The Supreme Court last month upheld the DoT's view on AGR. Vodafone Idea said it was in active discussions with the government seeking financial relief and also in the process of filing a review petition with the Supreme Court. "It is to be noted that our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on obtaining the reliefs from the government... and positive outcome of the proposed legal remedy," Vodafone Idea said in a statement. The company's gross debt at end-Sept. stood at 1.17 trillion rupees. Analysts have previously warned that Vodafone Idea will be the worst hit after the Supreme Court ruling given its already stretched balance sheet. "Vodafone results are a reflection of the company’s inability to compete effectively in a three-player market," said Deepa Dasani of HDFC Securities. "Apart from its impact on its equity value, this result will surely result in wider financial repercussions because it will hit the lenders and debt investors in the company, including mutual funds." Analysts on average expected Vodafone Idea to report a consolidated net loss of 44.22 billion rupees for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data, although those figures did not include the charge. The wireless carrier had posted a net loss of 49.74 billion rupees a year ago. Vodafone Idea's consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter rose 41.4% year-on-year to 108.44 billion rupees. On Thursday, Vodafone Idea said it plans to sell its 11.15% stake in mobile mast operator Indus Towers once its merger with Bharti Infratel receives regulatory clearances. Bharti Airtel's MD and CEO, India & South Asia, Gopal Vittal said: "We continue to engage with the government and are evaluating various options available to us." "We are hopeful that the government will take a considerate view in this matter given the fragile state of the industry," Gobal said. Analysts on average expected Bharti Airtel to report a loss of 11.16 billion rupees for the three months to the end of September, according to Refinitiv data. Bharti, which runs operations in South Asia and Africa, said its Indian revenue rose 3% year-on-year to 153.61 billion rupees. Earlier on Thursday, Singapore-based Singtel posted a second-quarter loss of S$668 million ($491.29 million) hurt by a one-time charge recorded by Bharti. Singtel is the biggest shareholder in Bharti Airtel, with an effective stake of about 35%.

Vodafone Idea makes $7 billion loss after provisions for government dues

Vodafone said its future in India could be in doubt unless the government stopped hitting operators with higher taxes and charges, after a court judgment over license fees resulted in a 1.9 billion euro group loss in its first half.

Chief Executive Nick Read said India, where Vodafone formed a joint venture with Idea Cellular in 2018, had been "a very challenging situation for a long time", but it remained a sizable market where Vodafone had a 30 per cent&nbsp;share.

"Financially there's been a heavy burden through unsupportive regulation, excessive taxes and on top of that we got the negative supreme court decision," he said on Tuesday.

Vodafone had asked the government for a relief package comprising a two-year moratorium on spectrum payments, lower license fee and taxes and waiving of interest and penalties on the Supreme Court case, which centred on regulatory fees.

Asked if it made sense for Vodafone to remain in India without any relief package, he said: "It's fair to say it's a very critical situation."

Read said Vodafone was not committing any more equity to India and the country effectively contributed zero value to the company's share price.

Vodafone's shares were up 0.6 per cent&nbsp;at 161 pence at 0931 GMT as investors focused on an upgrade to its earnings forecast rather than India.

Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile operator, reported improving organic revenue growth as it saw signs of improvement in Spain and Italy and as it integrates its German cable acquisition.

It reported organic service revenue growth of 0.3 per cent&nbsp;in the first half, as it returned to growth in the second quarter, while organic core earnings rose 1.4 per cent.

It increased its forecast for adjusted core earnings to 14.8-15.0 billion euros from its previous forecast of 13.8-14.2 billion euros, but said India and lower cash flows following the sale of assets in New Zealand meant free cash flow would be "around" 5.4 billion euros, rather than "at least" 5.4 billion euros, as it previously forecast.

Read said he was pleased with progress in executing his strategy.

"This is reflected in our return to top-line growth in the second quarter, which we expect to build upon in the second half of the year in both Europe and Africa," he said on Tuesday.

Read cut Vodafone's dividend for the first time in May after tough market conditions and a need to invest in its networks and airwaves caused him to backtrack on his pledge not to reduce the payout.

Vodafone said its future in India could be in doubt unless the government stopped hitting operators with higher taxes and charges, after a court judgment over license fees resulted in a 1.

Vodafone said its future in India could be in doubt unless the government stopped hitting operators with higher taxes and charges, after a court judgment over license fees resulted in a 1.9 billion euro group loss in its first half. Chief Executive Nick Read said India, where Vodafone formed a joint venture with Idea Cellular in 2018, had been "a very challenging situation for a long time", but it remained a sizable market where Vodafone had a 30 per cent share. "Financially there's been a heavy burden through unsupportive regulation, excessive taxes and on top of that we got the negative supreme court decision," he said on Tuesday. Vodafone had asked the government for a relief package comprising a two-year moratorium on spectrum payments, lower license fee and taxes and waiving of interest and penalties on the Supreme Court case, which centred on regulatory fees. Asked if it made sense for Vodafone to remain in India without any relief package, he said: "It's fair to say it's a very critical situation." Read said Vodafone was not committing any more equity to India and the country effectively contributed zero value to the company's share price. Vodafone's shares were up 0.6 per cent at 161 pence at 0931 GMT as investors focused on an upgrade to its earnings forecast rather than India. Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile operator, reported improving organic revenue growth as it saw signs of improvement in Spain and Italy and as it integrates its German cable acquisition. It reported organic service revenue growth of 0.3 per cent in the first half, as it returned to growth in the second quarter, while organic core earnings rose 1.4 per cent. It increased its forecast for adjusted core earnings to 14.8-15.0 billion euros from its previous forecast of 13.8-14.2 billion euros, but said India and lower cash flows following the sale of assets in New Zealand meant free cash flow would be "around" 5.4 billion euros, rather than "at least" 5.4 billion euros, as it previously forecast. Read said he was pleased with progress in executing his strategy. "This is reflected in our return to top-line growth in the second quarter, which we expect to build upon in the second half of the year in both Europe and Africa," he said on Tuesday. Read cut Vodafone's dividend for the first time in May after tough market conditions and a need to invest in its networks and airwaves caused him to backtrack on his pledge not to reduce the payout.

Vodafone's future in India in doubt after latest setback

The Libra Association, created by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/paypal-abandons-facebook-backed-libra-cryptocurrency-group-253843">Facebook to launch its new cryptocurrency</a>, has announced its 21 founding members after defections by previous supporters including Visa and Mastercard.

The announcement on Monday came as the planned Libra global currency faces swelling criticism from regulators, and reported warnings from the Group of Seven that it poses a threat to the global financial system.

The group kicked off its first council meeting in Geneva and founding members including Uber, Spotify and Vodafone formally signed onto the Libra Charter, director-general Bertrand Perez said.

"We now have a total guarantee of their involvement, so we have confidence in the project," he said.

Last month, the non-profit association voiced hope that the number of companies backing it when it opened for business would swell from an initial 28 to "well over 100".&nbsp;

But instead, the list has shrunk, after more of its initial backers walked away amid swelling criticism from regulators around the world.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, online marketplace eBay and digital payments firm Stripe each announced Friday they had changed their minds about being founding members of the association, following a similar recent announcement by digital payments firm PayPal.

The Libra Association confirmed Friday that the companies would no longer be founding members, but said it would continue building an alliance of businesses, social-good organisations, and others to implement the cryptocurrency.

Its launch was originally planned for mid-2020, but Perez said he had not ruled out a later start date.

"What we want is to build a platform that is solid, that is there to last and that will survive in the long term," he said, adding he was still "optimistic" about reaching around 100 members as planned.

Threat to financial stability?

The membership departures came after US senators sent letters to several financial firms noting that they could face "a high level of scrutiny from regulators" if they participated in the new currency plan.&nbsp;

French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that under current circumstances, Libra posed a threat to the "monetary sovereignty" of governments and could not be authorised in Europe.

Facebook executives have, however, claimed the new digital coin could help lower costs for global money transfers and help those without access to the banking system.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify at an October 23 hearing in the US House of Representatives on the Libra plan.

But in a fresh blow, a draft G7 report has outlined nine major risks posed by such digital currencies, according to the BBC.

The report, due to be presented to finance ministers at International Monetary Fund's annual meeting this week, did not single out Libra but referred to "global stablecoins" with the potential to "scale rapidly" as posing a range of potential problems.

Stablecoins are seen as more steady than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, since they are pegged to traditional currencies such as the US dollar or the euro.

But the G7 draft report reportedly cautioned that such currencies could pose problems for policymakers setting interest rates, and could threaten financial stability if users suddenly suffer "loss of confidence" in the digital unit.

Randal Quarles, the head of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which oversees regulation among G20 economies, also sent a letter to G20 finance ministers Sunday warning that "global stablecoins could pose a host of challenges to the regulatory community".

This, he wrote, was "not least because they have the potential to become systemically important, including through the substitution of domestic currencies".

"Stablecoin projects of potentially global reach and magnitude must meet the highest regulatory standards and be subject to prudential supervision and oversight," he insisted.

The Libra Association, created by Facebook to launch its new cryptocurrency, has announced its 21 founding members after defections by previous supporters including Visa and Mastercard.

The Libra Association, created by Facebook to launch its new cryptocurrency, has announced its 21 founding members after defections by previous supporters including Visa and Mastercard. The announcement on Monday came as the planned Libra global currency faces swelling criticism from regulators, and reported warnings from the Group of Seven that it poses a threat to the global financial system. The group kicked off its first council meeting in Geneva and founding members including Uber, Spotify and Vodafone formally signed onto the Libra Charter, director-general Bertrand Perez said. "We now have a total guarantee of their involvement, so we have confidence in the project," he said. Last month, the non-profit association voiced hope that the number of companies backing it when it opened for business would swell from an initial 28 to "well over 100". But instead, the list has shrunk, after more of its initial backers walked away amid swelling criticism from regulators around the world. Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, online marketplace eBay and digital payments firm Stripe each announced Friday they had changed their minds about being founding members of the association, following a similar recent announcement by digital payments firm PayPal. The Libra Association confirmed Friday that the companies would no longer be founding members, but said it would continue building an alliance of businesses, social-good organisations, and others to implement the cryptocurrency. Its launch was originally planned for mid-2020, but Perez said he had not ruled out a later start date. "What we want is to build a platform that is solid, that is there to last and that will survive in the long term," he said, adding he was still "optimistic" about reaching around 100 members as planned. Threat to financial stability? The membership departures came after US senators sent letters to several financial firms noting that they could face "a high level of scrutiny from regulators" if they participated in the new currency plan. French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that under current circumstances, Libra posed a threat to the "monetary sovereignty" of governments and could not be authorised in Europe. Facebook executives have, however, claimed the new digital coin could help lower costs for global money transfers and help those without access to the banking system. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify at an October 23 hearing in the US House of Representatives on the Libra plan. But in a fresh blow, a draft G7 report has outlined nine major risks posed by such digital currencies, according to the BBC. The report, due to be presented to finance ministers at International Monetary Fund's annual meeting this week, did not single out Libra but referred to "global stablecoins" with the potential to "scale rapidly" as posing a range of potential problems. Stablecoins are seen as more steady than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, since they are pegged to traditional currencies such as the US dollar or the euro. But the G7 draft report reportedly cautioned that such currencies could pose problems for policymakers setting interest rates, and could threaten financial stability if users suddenly suffer "loss of confidence" in the digital unit. Randal Quarles, the head of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which oversees regulation among G20 economies, also sent a letter to G20 finance ministers Sunday warning that "global stablecoins could pose a host of challenges to the regulatory community". This, he wrote, was "not least because they have the potential to become systemically important, including through the substitution of domestic currencies". "Stablecoin projects of potentially global reach and magnitude must meet the highest regulatory standards and be subject to prudential supervision and oversight," he insisted.

Group behind Facebook's Libra coin announces 21 founding members

Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom unit Jio pipped rival Bharti Airtel to become India's second-largest operator by subscribers as of May, government data showed.

Jio, controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, has disrupted the telecom industry in the country since it was launched in 2016, offering cheap bundles and prompting shutdowns.

As of the end of May, the operator had added 8.2 million users since April to end the month with 323 million wireless customers, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed. The data was published on Friday.&nbsp;

Both Vodafone Idea, which was the top operator with 387.6 million customers, and Bharti Airtel lost users over the month.

Reliance Industries is expected to post quarterly results later in the day. The company has been betting big on the unit as it diversifies from its core oil and gas operations. 
&nbsp;

Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom unit Jio pipped rival Bharti Airtel to become India's second-largest operator by subscribers as of May, government data showed.

Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom unit Jio pipped rival Bharti Airtel to become India's second-largest operator by subscribers as of May, government data showed. Jio, controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, has disrupted the telecom industry in the country since it was launched in 2016, offering cheap bundles and prompting shutdowns. As of the end of May, the operator had added 8.2 million users since April to end the month with 323 million wireless customers, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed. The data was published on Friday. Both Vodafone Idea, which was the top operator with 387.6 million customers, and Bharti Airtel lost users over the month. Reliance Industries is expected to post quarterly results later in the day. The company has been betting big on the unit as it diversifies from its core oil and gas operations.

Reliance Jio overtakes Bharti Airtel to become Number 2 operator

Mobile subscriber base of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel shrunk by nearly 14.5 million and 15.1 million, respectively, as of March over the previous month, while Reliance Jio added 9.4 million users in the month, according to the TRAI data.

India's total wireless subscriber base fell to 1,161.8 million on March 31, 2019, shedding 21.87 million users over the previous month. The overall teledensity in India declined to 90.11 at the end of March, from 91.86 in February.

According to TRAI, the wireless subscriber base of Vodafone Idea at the end of March 2019 was 394.8 million. The company in its quarterly results for the last quarter of 2018-19 had shown the total user base at 334.1 million.&nbsp;

Bharti Airtel's mobile subscriber base was 325.1 million, and that of rival Reliance Jio was 306.7 million as on March 2019.&nbsp;

"Total wireless subscribers declined from 1,183.68 million at the end of Feb-19 to 1,161.81 million at the end of Mar-19, thereby registering a monthly decline rate of 1.85 per cent," said the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/its-up-to-government-to-take-a-call-on-huawei-issue-telecom-regulatory-authority-of-india-220174">Telecom Regulatory Authority of India</a> (TRAI) report released on Tuesday.

The wireless subscription in urban areas declined to 650.49 million in March end from 656.57 million in February end, and rural user base also plunged to 511.32 million from 527.11 million during the period.

Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel together shed 29.6 million users by March-end compared to February.&nbsp;

Market analysts noted that in certain cases, the subscriber tally difference between regulator's data and those cited by the companies is on account of the different measures used for computing wireless subscribers base.&nbsp;

While TRAI data takes into consideration live connections in a 90-day period, operators' calculations are based on active customers as on March 31, 2019, and factors in the impact of minimum recharge plan, market watchers pointed out.

The customers base of Reliance Jio, owned by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani was 306.7 million as on March 2019, against 297.2 million as on February.&nbsp;

Overall, India's broadband subscriber base rose to 563.1 million in March, swelling 2.37 per cent over the previous month. Jio notched the highest broadband subscriber base of 306.7 million, followed by Airtel (114.6 million), Vodafone Idea (110.2 million) and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (22.14 million).&nbsp;

Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel - whose financials have been battered by intense price competition posed by Reliance Jio - have resorted to minimum recharge plans, consciously cleaning off plain vanilla, low-value subscribers.

During its recent quarterly earnings announcement, Vodafone Idea said that it benefitted from the introduction of 'service validity vouchers' that require customers to make a minimum recharge of Rs 35.

"As expected, this resulted in a decline of 53.2 million subscribers as 'Incoming-only' or 'Low ARPU' customers migrated their spending from multiple SIMs to single SIM, taking the overall subscriber base to 334.1 million," Vodafone Idea statement had then said.

The company had said that its revenues its Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for the just-ended quarter grew 16.3 per cent sequentially to Rs 104 compared to Rs 89 in the third quarter of 2018-19.&nbsp;

Mobile subscriber base of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel shrunk by nearly 14.5 million and 15.1 million, respectively, as of March over the previous month, while Reliance Jio added 9.

Mobile subscriber base of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel shrunk by nearly 14.5 million and 15.1 million, respectively, as of March over the previous month, while Reliance Jio added 9.4 million users in the month, according to the TRAI data. India's total wireless subscriber base fell to 1,161.8 million on March 31, 2019, shedding 21.87 million users over the previous month. The overall teledensity in India declined to 90.11 at the end of March, from 91.86 in February. According to TRAI, the wireless subscriber base of Vodafone Idea at the end of March 2019 was 394.8 million. The company in its quarterly results for the last quarter of 2018-19 had shown the total user base at 334.1 million. Bharti Airtel's mobile subscriber base was 325.1 million, and that of rival Reliance Jio was 306.7 million as on March 2019. "Total wireless subscribers declined from 1,183.68 million at the end of Feb-19 to 1,161.81 million at the end of Mar-19, thereby registering a monthly decline rate of 1.85 per cent," said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report released on Tuesday. The wireless subscription in urban areas declined to 650.49 million in March end from 656.57 million in February end, and rural user base also plunged to 511.32 million from 527.11 million during the period. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel together shed 29.6 million users by March-end compared to February. Market analysts noted that in certain cases, the subscriber tally difference between regulator's data and those cited by the companies is on account of the different measures used for computing wireless subscribers base. While TRAI data takes into consideration live connections in a 90-day period, operators' calculations are based on active customers as on March 31, 2019, and factors in the impact of minimum recharge plan, market watchers pointed out. The customers base of Reliance Jio, owned by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani was 306.7 million as on March 2019, against 297.2 million as on February. Overall, India's broadband subscriber base rose to 563.1 million in March, swelling 2.37 per cent over the previous month. Jio notched the highest broadband subscriber base of 306.7 million, followed by Airtel (114.6 million), Vodafone Idea (110.2 million) and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (22.14 million). Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel - whose financials have been battered by intense price competition posed by Reliance Jio - have resorted to minimum recharge plans, consciously cleaning off plain vanilla, low-value subscribers. During its recent quarterly earnings announcement, Vodafone Idea said that it benefitted from the introduction of 'service validity vouchers' that require customers to make a minimum recharge of Rs 35. "As expected, this resulted in a decline of 53.2 million subscribers as 'Incoming-only' or 'Low ARPU' customers migrated their spending from multiple SIMs to single SIM, taking the overall subscriber base to 334.1 million," Vodafone Idea statement had then said. The company had said that its revenues its Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for the just-ended quarter grew 16.3 per cent sequentially to Rs 104 compared to Rs 89 in the third quarter of 2018-19.

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea lose 30 million customers; Jio adds 9.4 million users in March

Vodafone Chief Executive Vittorio Colao will step down in October after 10 years in which the Italian reshaped the world's second-largest mobile operator into a digital communications powerhouse with a string of major deals.

The urbane Colao will be replaced by Nick Read, finance director since 2014, whose broad international experience had marked him out as the likely next leader of a group with 536 million mobile customers and 47 billion euros ($56 billion) in revenue.

He will take charge of a group that, under Colao, pulled back from its once brazen expansionist drive, most notably when it sold out of the United States with a $130 billion exit from a joint venture with Verizon.

"We have taken a company which was mostly consumer, mostly mobile, very spread with a lot of monorities, and have turned it into a powerhouse of convergence, with only controlled or co-controlled companies and a very strong enterprise business," Colao said.

Last week Vodafone struck a $21.8 billion deal to buy Liberty Global's cable TV and broadband networks in Germany and other markets to strengthen its business in Europe, where 35 percent of its proforma revenue came from fixed line last year.

And in India, which it entered with great fanfare in 2007, it is merging its operations with Idea Cellular to bulk up in a market that has been hit by intense competition.

"The chapter that Vodafone is now starting to write is completely new," Colao told reporters. "It is the right time ... to start with a new dedicated management team."

Read, a Briton educated at a state school, will be replaced by his deputy since 2015, Margherita Della Valle, an Italian who joined the group in 1994.

Analysts said the timing of the departure should come as no surprise and that investors should be reassured by Read's appointment due to his experience running its British operations and the emerging market assets.

The change came as the group published solid 2018 results and a more cautious 2019 outlook due to price cuts in Spain and an expected increase in competition in Italy. Its shares fell more than 4 percent.

"With the Liberty deal announced and India set to close, he leaves behind a strategically well-positioned portfolio for his successor Nick Read, who we think is a safe pair of hands," analysts at Bernstein said.

Valued at 133 pence when Colao took over, Vodafone's shares were trading at around 199 pence on Tuesday, a performance broadly in line with the FTSE 100 index over the decade.

Colao, however, said the business had been transformed.

"Look at the numbers, we have divested businesses for 116 billion euros, we have invested 100 billion euros in capex and spectrum, we have invested 49 billion euros in acquisitions and we have paid out 120 billion to investors," he said.

Big opportunity

In Read, a 53-year old tennis fan, investors will get a chief executive groomed for the job.

Read said he had been alongside Colao through the process of reshaping Vodafone, and he would now deliver the benefits for shareholders and customers.

"I think now is the time to really focus on our organic plan, really focusing on digital transformation of our business and the customer experience," he told reporters.

"And of course there's a big opportunity of integrating these new businesses, both Liberty and over in India."

Having joined Vodafone in 2001, Read's roles have included running the British and emerging market operations. He has also sat on the boards of the company's listed operations in Africa and Qatar, its subsidiaries in India and Egypt and its joint venture in Australia.

One area that remains to be tackled is Britain, Vodafone's home market where it languishes in third place behind BT's EE and Telefonica's O2. Annual organic service revenue there fell 3.5 percent, compared with growth in the rest of Europe.

The management changes were announced as the company reported a 1.4 percent rise in organic service revenue for its fourth quarter, beating analyst forecasts of a 1.1 percent rise.

Full year core earnings rose 11.8 percent to 14.7 billion euros, beating guidance for "around 10 percent" organic growth and just ahead of analyst forecasts of 14.6 billion euros.

For 2019, the group struck a more cautious tone with a forecast of organic core earnings growth of between 1 and 5 percent, and free cash flow before spectrum costs of at least 5.2 billion euros, slightly down on the 2018 number of 5.4 billion euros.

Work to do

Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said Colao had been an "exemplary leader and strategic visionary who has overseen a dramatic transformation of Vodafone".

Born in northern Italy, Colao cut his teeth as a management consultant at McKinsey before in 1996 he joined Omnitel Pronto Italia, which later became Vodafone Italy.

A keen cyclist, the tall Colao has lived a quiet life in London, largely avoiding London's corporate social scene.

Colleagues say he enjoys the cut and thrust of talking to journalists and analysts, and will also happily discuss European politics and regulation. Analysts have speculated that he could move into Italian politics.

Colao said he would take some time off in August to consider his next move. But whatever job he does, he will stay in London where his children are at school, he said.

His departure follows that of Martin Sorrell at WPP after 33 years in charge, meaning the FTSE 100 has lost two of its longest-serving CEOs in a short period of time.

"It has a been a real privilege to lead the group through a decade of massive strategic transformation culminating in today's good financial performance," Colao told reporters.

"But it is not yet the time for goodbyes. There is still a lot to do between now and October." ($1 = 0.8390 euros)

Vodafone Chief Executive Vittorio Colao will step down in October after 10 years in which the Italian reshaped the world's second-largest mobile operator into a digital communications powerhouse with a string of major deals

Vodafone Chief Executive Vittorio Colao will step down in October after 10 years in which the Italian reshaped the world's second-largest mobile operator into a digital communications powerhouse with a string of major deals. The urbane Colao will be replaced by Nick Read, finance director since 2014, whose broad international experience had marked him out as the likely next leader of a group with 536 million mobile customers and 47 billion euros ($56 billion) in revenue. He will take charge of a group that, under Colao, pulled back from its once brazen expansionist drive, most notably when it sold out of the United States with a $130 billion exit from a joint venture with Verizon. "We have taken a company which was mostly consumer, mostly mobile, very spread with a lot of monorities, and have turned it into a powerhouse of convergence, with only controlled or co-controlled companies and a very strong enterprise business," Colao said. Last week Vodafone struck a $21.8 billion deal to buy Liberty Global's cable TV and broadband networks in Germany and other markets to strengthen its business in Europe, where 35 percent of its proforma revenue came from fixed line last year. And in India, which it entered with great fanfare in 2007, it is merging its operations with Idea Cellular to bulk up in a market that has been hit by intense competition. "The chapter that Vodafone is now starting to write is completely new," Colao told reporters. "It is the right time ... to start with a new dedicated management team." Read, a Briton educated at a state school, will be replaced by his deputy since 2015, Margherita Della Valle, an Italian who joined the group in 1994. Analysts said the timing of the departure should come as no surprise and that investors should be reassured by Read's appointment due to his experience running its British operations and the emerging market assets. The change came as the group published solid 2018 results and a more cautious 2019 outlook due to price cuts in Spain and an expected increase in competition in Italy. Its shares fell more than 4 percent. "With the Liberty deal announced and India set to close, he leaves behind a strategically well-positioned portfolio for his successor Nick Read, who we think is a safe pair of hands," analysts at Bernstein said. Valued at 133 pence when Colao took over, Vodafone's shares were trading at around 199 pence on Tuesday, a performance broadly in line with the FTSE 100 index over the decade. Colao, however, said the business had been transformed. "Look at the numbers, we have divested businesses for 116 billion euros, we have invested 100 billion euros in capex and spectrum, we have invested 49 billion euros in acquisitions and we have paid out 120 billion to investors," he said. Big opportunity In Read, a 53-year old tennis fan, investors will get a chief executive groomed for the job. Read said he had been alongside Colao through the process of reshaping Vodafone, and he would now deliver the benefits for shareholders and customers. "I think now is the time to really focus on our organic plan, really focusing on digital transformation of our business and the customer experience," he told reporters. "And of course there's a big opportunity of integrating these new businesses, both Liberty and over in India." Having joined Vodafone in 2001, Read's roles have included running the British and emerging market operations. He has also sat on the boards of the company's listed operations in Africa and Qatar, its subsidiaries in India and Egypt and its joint venture in Australia. One area that remains to be tackled is Britain, Vodafone's home market where it languishes in third place behind BT's EE and Telefonica's O2. Annual organic service revenue there fell 3.5 percent, compared with growth in the rest of Europe. The management changes were announced as the company reported a 1.4 percent rise in organic service revenue for its fourth quarter, beating analyst forecasts of a 1.1 percent rise. Full year core earnings rose 11.8 percent to 14.7 billion euros, beating guidance for "around 10 percent" organic growth and just ahead of analyst forecasts of 14.6 billion euros. For 2019, the group struck a more cautious tone with a forecast of organic core earnings growth of between 1 and 5 percent, and free cash flow before spectrum costs of at least 5.2 billion euros, slightly down on the 2018 number of 5.4 billion euros. Work to do Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said Colao had been an "exemplary leader and strategic visionary who has overseen a dramatic transformation of Vodafone". Born in northern Italy, Colao cut his teeth as a management consultant at McKinsey before in 1996 he joined Omnitel Pronto Italia, which later became Vodafone Italy. A keen cyclist, the tall Colao has lived a quiet life in London, largely avoiding London's corporate social scene. Colleagues say he enjoys the cut and thrust of talking to journalists and analysts, and will also happily discuss European politics and regulation. Analysts have speculated that he could move into Italian politics. Colao said he would take some time off in August to consider his next move. But whatever job he does, he will stay in London where his children are at school, he said. His departure follows that of Martin Sorrell at WPP after 33 years in charge, meaning the FTSE 100 has lost two of its longest-serving CEOs in a short period of time. "It has a been a real privilege to lead the group through a decade of massive strategic transformation culminating in today's good financial performance," Colao told reporters. "But it is not yet the time for goodbyes. There is still a lot to do between now and October." ($1 = 0.8390 euros)

End of an era as Vodafone boss Colao hands over to protege Nick Read

Vodafone and Huawei achieved yet another milestone as the two groups jointly completed the world&rsquo;s first call using the Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) standard and sub6 GHz spectrum.&nbsp;

The call which was made using a test network, took place in Spain ahead of Mobile World Congress which starts on February 26.

The standards organisation 3GPP agreed on the Non-Stand-Alone global standard for 5G as part of its &lsquo;Release 15&rsquo; in December 2017.

In the test, a dual connectivity 4G to 5G live call was achieved using a test device.&nbsp;

The voice over internet protocol (VOIP) connection started on 4G and then established the data connection on 5G.&nbsp;

The engineers also successfully tested a live HD video call using the same route.

A 5G NR end-to-end test network was built to undertake the trial and used 3.7GHz spectrum. Huawei Radio Access Network (RAN) and core network equipment were deployed to support the test with micro-service centric architecture, control plane/user plane separation, unified access and network slicing technology.

Santiago Tenorio, Vodafone&rsquo;s Group Head of Networks Strategy and Architecture, said: &quot;This is a significant milestone for Vodafone towards the introduction of 5G. The credit for this must go to the engineers in Huawei and Vodafone who have worked tirelessly since December. This successful test will enable us to move forward with further trials of 5G across Europe during 2018.&quot;

Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei&rsquo;s 5G product line, said: &quot;Huawei is fully committed to the further development of this end-to-end 5G network technology. This test result shows the maturity of 5G system based on the 3GPP standard. We are ready to continue our collaboration with Vodafone and enter commercial trial.&quot;

MWC 2018 will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Barcelona, Spain. Huawei will showcase its products and solutions at booth 1J50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1, booth 3I30 in Hall 3, and the Innovation City zone in Hall 4.&nbsp;

The call was completed using 3GPP R15 NSA Standard

Vodafone and Huawei achieved yet another milestone as the two groups jointly completed the world’s first call using the Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) standard and sub6 GHz spectrum. The call which was made using a test network, took place in Spain ahead of Mobile World Congress which starts on February 26. The standards organisation 3GPP agreed on the Non-Stand-Alone global standard for 5G as part of its ‘Release 15’ in December 2017. In the test, a dual connectivity 4G to 5G live call was achieved using a test device. The voice over internet protocol (VOIP) connection started on 4G and then established the data connection on 5G. The engineers also successfully tested a live HD video call using the same route. A 5G NR end-to-end test network was built to undertake the trial and used 3.7GHz spectrum. Huawei Radio Access Network (RAN) and core network equipment were deployed to support the test with micro-service centric architecture, control plane/user plane separation, unified access and network slicing technology. Santiago Tenorio, Vodafone’s Group Head of Networks Strategy and Architecture, said: "This is a significant milestone for Vodafone towards the introduction of 5G. The credit for this must go to the engineers in Huawei and Vodafone who have worked tirelessly since December. This successful test will enable us to move forward with further trials of 5G across Europe during 2018." Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei’s 5G product line, said: "Huawei is fully committed to the further development of this end-to-end 5G network technology. This test result shows the maturity of 5G system based on the 3GPP standard. We are ready to continue our collaboration with Vodafone and enter commercial trial." MWC 2018 will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Barcelona, Spain. Huawei will showcase its products and solutions at booth 1J50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1, booth 3I30 in Hall 3, and the Innovation City zone in Hall 4.

Vodafone, Huawei complete world's first 5G call and dual connectivity

The Income Tax Department on Thursday claimed to have busted a racket of extracting fraudulent tax refunds by employees of bellwether companies like IBM, Vodafone and Infosys in alleged connivance with a Chartered Accountant (CA) in Bengaluru, the IT capital of the country.

The investigation wing of the department conducted searches on the premises of an unidentified CA yesterday and claimed to have &quot;seized&quot; bogus claim documents of his various clients along with WhatsApp chat messages.

The CA, a department statement said, was &quot;found to be instrumental in filing false income tax returns and making fraudulent refund claims&quot; by citing inflated or false claims of loss from house property.

The department claimed that the CA filed &quot;nearly 1,000 returns with the loss from house property, aggregating to loss claim of Rs 18 crore&quot; till now.

Employees of over 50 prominent and medium-sized companies in Bengaluru are under the scanner of the department who were the clients of this CA, whom the department did not identify citing ongoing investigation.

&quot;It is noted that employees from some of the reputed companies such as IBM, Vodafone, Saplabs, Biocon, Infosys, ICICI Bank, CISCO, Thomson Reuters India Limited among others have also resorted to such fraudulent claim of refunds by filing revised returns of their individual income,&quot; the department said.

It added that many of them have been questioned by the taxman in their respective offices since yesterday.

&quot;This is a case that is building up. Such a large-scale action in cases of employees seeking false refunds has been undertaken by the tax department for the first time,&quot; a senior official said.

The department said many of the employees it questioned, after the fraud was unearthed, said they do not have any &quot;real loss&quot; under the &#39;income from house property&#39; category and the employees shifted blame on the CA saying it was the professional who said &quot;he can get refunds for them by making some claims&quot;.

&quot;They also deposed that, out of the refund received, the auditor (CA) had charged 10 per cent as incidental charges.

Some WhatsApp messages with auditor were also shown by them, as supporting evidence,&quot; it said.

The CA, instead, told the taxman that he filed those bogus claim refunds at the &quot;insistence of his clients&quot;.

&quot;Further enquiries like examination of his (CA&#39;s) other clients and cross-examination of them with the CA are being conducted.

&quot;Necessary action as per law will be taken against the CA as well as the persons who have claimed wrong refunds under the provisions of Income Tax Act,&quot; it said.

The department cautioned taxpayers from indulging or getting influenced by such frauds as it said that making a claim of refunds by the taxpayer from the department is based on &quot;trust&quot; between the two sides and this should not be breached.

&quot;The Income Tax department now does automate and faceless return processing and the issue of refunds. This is based on the principle of trusting the taxpayer.

&quot;Making a bogus and fraudulent claim is not only a betrayal of this trust, it will expose the taxpayer to heavy interest, penalty and possible prosecution ending in a jail term,&quot; it said.

All taxpayers, the statement said, are requested to be highly alert to fraudulent schemes like the present one.

&quot;Such fraudulent schemes will invariably be caught out and will result in penal action on the taxpayer.

&quot;If any person has made a false claim in the I-T returns resulting in lower tax payment/unjustified refund, they are advised to take immediate steps to file revised returns disclosing the correct income and paying due tax,&quot; it said.

Employees of over 50 prominent and medium-sized companies in Bengaluru are under the scanner

The Income Tax Department on Thursday claimed to have busted a racket of extracting fraudulent tax refunds by employees of bellwether companies like IBM, Vodafone and Infosys in alleged connivance with a Chartered Accountant (CA) in Bengaluru, the IT capital of the country. The investigation wing of the department conducted searches on the premises of an unidentified CA yesterday and claimed to have "seized" bogus claim documents of his various clients along with WhatsApp chat messages. The CA, a department statement said, was "found to be instrumental in filing false income tax returns and making fraudulent refund claims" by citing inflated or false claims of loss from house property. The department claimed that the CA filed "nearly 1,000 returns with the loss from house property, aggregating to loss claim of Rs 18 crore" till now. Employees of over 50 prominent and medium-sized companies in Bengaluru are under the scanner of the department who were the clients of this CA, whom the department did not identify citing ongoing investigation. "It is noted that employees from some of the reputed companies such as IBM, Vodafone, Saplabs, Biocon, Infosys, ICICI Bank, CISCO, Thomson Reuters India Limited among others have also resorted to such fraudulent claim of refunds by filing revised returns of their individual income," the department said. It added that many of them have been questioned by the taxman in their respective offices since yesterday. "This is a case that is building up. Such a large-scale action in cases of employees seeking false refunds has been undertaken by the tax department for the first time," a senior official said. The department said many of the employees it questioned, after the fraud was unearthed, said they do not have any "real loss" under the 'income from house property' category and the employees shifted blame on the CA saying it was the professional who said "he can get refunds for them by making some claims". "They also deposed that, out of the refund received, the auditor (CA) had charged 10 per cent as incidental charges. Some WhatsApp messages with auditor were also shown by them, as supporting evidence," it said. The CA, instead, told the taxman that he filed those bogus claim refunds at the "insistence of his clients". "Further enquiries like examination of his (CA's) other clients and cross-examination of them with the CA are being conducted. "Necessary action as per law will be taken against the CA as well as the persons who have claimed wrong refunds under the provisions of Income Tax Act," it said. The department cautioned taxpayers from indulging or getting influenced by such frauds as it said that making a claim of refunds by the taxpayer from the department is based on "trust" between the two sides and this should not be breached. "The Income Tax department now does automate and faceless return processing and the issue of refunds. This is based on the principle of trusting the taxpayer. "Making a bogus and fraudulent claim is not only a betrayal of this trust, it will expose the taxpayer to heavy interest, penalty and possible prosecution ending in a jail term," it said. All taxpayers, the statement said, are requested to be highly alert to fraudulent schemes like the present one. "Such fraudulent schemes will invariably be caught out and will result in penal action on the taxpayer. "If any person has made a false claim in the I-T returns resulting in lower tax payment/unjustified refund, they are advised to take immediate steps to file revised returns disclosing the correct income and paying due tax," it said.

I-T busts refund fraud, claims nexus between employees of top companies, CA

Telecom operator Vodafone India today said it has enabled Noida&#39;s first free Wi-Fi bus shelter that would allow mobile users to avail up to 20 minutes of free session per day.

&quot;An operator-agnostic offering, this wi-fi service can be availed by users of any Indian telecom operator,&quot; Vodafone statement said announcing the free Wi-Fi enabled bus shelter at Noida&#39;s Sector 18.

The bus shelter allows customers to avail complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 20 minutes per day.

This is third such Wi-Fi bus shelter by Vodafone in Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) after Huda City Centre and Sector 14 Gurugram.

The company&#39;s wi-fi hotspot network is also available across 116 locations of Delhi-NCR, including markets and mall, hospitals and colleges, the statement added.

The bus shelter allows customers to avail complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 20 minutes per day

Telecom operator Vodafone India today said it has enabled Noida's first free Wi-Fi bus shelter that would allow mobile users to avail up to 20 minutes of free session per day. "An operator-agnostic offering, this wi-fi service can be availed by users of any Indian telecom operator," Vodafone statement said announcing the free Wi-Fi enabled bus shelter at Noida's Sector 18. The bus shelter allows customers to avail complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 20 minutes per day. This is third such Wi-Fi bus shelter by Vodafone in Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) after Huda City Centre and Sector 14 Gurugram. The company's wi-fi hotspot network is also available across 116 locations of Delhi-NCR, including markets and mall, hospitals and colleges, the statement added.

Vodafone enables free Wi-Fi bus shelter in Noida

Reliance Jio has filed a complaint with the telecom ministry alleging that incumbents Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea did not deposit requisite licence fee in March, which led to a potential loss of Rs 400 crore to the government.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm alleged that Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, in utter violation of licence rules &quot;unilaterally, wilfully and intentionally paid the advance license fee for last quarter&quot; of 2016-17 on the basis of estimated adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which was much lower than &quot;the license stipulation to pay the license fee not less than the fee paid for the third quarter&quot;.

According to the complaint, Airtel paid around Rs 950 crore as the licence fee for January-March 2017. The amount, Jio alleges, was Rs 150 crore less than Rs 1,099.5 crore licence fee paid by Airtel for October-December 2017.

As per rules, a telecom operator is required to pay licence fee for January-March period based on expected revenue but it should not be less than the fee paid for the third quarter of the same fiscal.

Similarly, Jio said, Vodafone paid Rs 550 crore which was Rs 200 crore less as compared to Rs 746.8-crore licence fee it paid in the third quarter. Idea paid Rs 60 crore less fee than Rs 609.4 crore paid in the previous quarter, Reliance Jio alleged.

&quot;The said act of the incumbent telecom service providers (TSPs) has caused potential financial loss amounting to over Rs 400 crore to the government exchequer and in any event has caused a revenue shortfall of the said amount in financial year 2016-17,&quot; Jio alleged.

The COAI denied the allegation stating that there will be no loss to the government as AGR will be trued up to actual in the subsequent quarter.

&quot;These allegations are both mischievous and ironic, with no basis in fact, if what we&#39;re hearing from the media is true. COAI is not in receipt of any such communication,&quot; the association&#39;s Director General, Rajan S Mathews, said.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had requested the Department of Telecom (DoT) to allow its member companies to pay the license fee for the fourth quarter on the basis of the estimated AGR instead of on the basis of&nbsp;estimated AGR for the period and actual license fee paid for the third quarter purportedly due to the financial conditions of the telecom operators.

Jio said the DoT &quot;did not rightfully accede&quot; to COAI&#39;s request but it has learnt that the department is now considering the COAI&#39;s request &quot;which is admittedly a gross violation of license conditions and any relief will tantamount to rewarding a party in breach&quot;.

The company said that cannot allow leniency for COAI and should &quot;not condone the wilful, deliberate and unilateral breach of license conditions as it would affect the level- playing field to be afforded to all licensees&quot;.

Demanding action against incumbent telecom operators in form of penalty up to Rs 50 crore per service area (there are 22 service areas in India), termination of licence as per rules, among others, Reliance Jio said it has paid the advance license fee fully in compliance with the conditions and does not agree with the views expressed by the COAI.

&quot;Any delay in taking action would set a very bad precedent, wherein licensees would unilaterally decide to breach license conditions and just inform the licensor about it,&quot; Jio said.

Mathews said the decline in revenue was never contemplated when setting the licence conditions and hence the request was in response to an unanticipated event not&nbsp;foreseen in the licence.

&quot;We have submitted our factual representation of what the industry is going through and a bare reading of that will adequately clarify that our members have categorically stated, even in their submission to DoT that they will confirm and pay the licence fee on or before April 15, 2017. With this, there is no loss to the government also as the licence fee will be paid on actual revenue,&quot; Mathews added.

(PTI)

Reliance Jio has filed a complaint with the telecom ministry alleging that incumbents Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea did not deposit requisite licence fee in March

Reliance Jio has filed a complaint with the telecom ministry alleging that incumbents Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea did not deposit requisite licence fee in March, which led to a potential loss of Rs 400 crore to the government. The Mukesh Ambani-led firm alleged that Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, in utter violation of licence rules "unilaterally, wilfully and intentionally paid the advance license fee for last quarter" of 2016-17 on the basis of estimated adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which was much lower than "the license stipulation to pay the license fee not less than the fee paid for the third quarter". According to the complaint, Airtel paid around Rs 950 crore as the licence fee for January-March 2017. The amount, Jio alleges, was Rs 150 crore less than Rs 1,099.5 crore licence fee paid by Airtel for October-December 2017. As per rules, a telecom operator is required to pay licence fee for January-March period based on expected revenue but it should not be less than the fee paid for the third quarter of the same fiscal. Similarly, Jio said, Vodafone paid Rs 550 crore which was Rs 200 crore less as compared to Rs 746.8-crore licence fee it paid in the third quarter. Idea paid Rs 60 crore less fee than Rs 609.4 crore paid in the previous quarter, Reliance Jio alleged. "The said act of the incumbent telecom service providers (TSPs) has caused potential financial loss amounting to over Rs 400 crore to the government exchequer and in any event has caused a revenue shortfall of the said amount in financial year 2016-17," Jio alleged. The COAI denied the allegation stating that there will be no loss to the government as AGR will be trued up to actual in the subsequent quarter. "These allegations are both mischievous and ironic, with no basis in fact, if what we're hearing from the media is true. COAI is not in receipt of any such communication," the association's Director General, Rajan S Mathews, said. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had requested the Department of Telecom (DoT) to allow its member companies to pay the license fee for the fourth quarter on the basis of the estimated AGR instead of on the basis of estimated AGR for the period and actual license fee paid for the third quarter purportedly due to the financial conditions of the telecom operators. Jio said the DoT "did not rightfully accede" to COAI's request but it has learnt that the department is now considering the COAI's request "which is admittedly a gross violation of license conditions and any relief will tantamount to rewarding a party in breach". The company said that cannot allow leniency for COAI and should "not condone the wilful, deliberate and unilateral breach of license conditions as it would affect the level- playing field to be afforded to all licensees". Demanding action against incumbent telecom operators in form of penalty up to Rs 50 crore per service area (there are 22 service areas in India), termination of licence as per rules, among others, Reliance Jio said it has paid the advance license fee fully in compliance with the conditions and does not agree with the views expressed by the COAI. "Any delay in taking action would set a very bad precedent, wherein licensees would unilaterally decide to breach license conditions and just inform the licensor about it," Jio said. Mathews said the decline in revenue was never contemplated when setting the licence conditions and hence the request was in response to an unanticipated event not foreseen in the licence. "We have submitted our factual representation of what the industry is going through and a bare reading of that will adequately clarify that our members have categorically stated, even in their submission to DoT that they will confirm and pay the licence fee on or before April 15, 2017. With this, there is no loss to the government also as the licence fee will be paid on actual revenue," Mathews added. (PTI)

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea cause Rs 400 crore loss to Indian government: Reliance Jio

Britain&#39;s Vodafone Group will merge its Indian subsidiary with local rival Idea Cellular within two years,&nbsp;&nbsp;Idea said today. The new entity will compete with Reliance Jio that has unleashed a fierce price war.

Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the chairman of the merged entity.&nbsp;

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I am pleased and honoured to be the chairman of the new company: Kumar Mangalam Birla after Vodafone India-IDEA merger (file pic) <a href="https://t.co/p7csrklCuz">pic.twitter.com/p7csrklCuz</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/843710972409782272">March 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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According to some reports, Idea said Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent of the merged entity, after it transfers about 4.9 per cent to promoters of Idea and/or their affiliates for 38.74 billion rupees ($592.15 million) in cash. PTI, however, says&nbsp;both companies will have an equal stake.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vodafone?src=hash">#Vodafone</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Idea?src=hash">#Idea</a> to have equal stakes in the merged entity over a period of time: chiefs of both companies.
&mdash; Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/843708844052242437">March 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The merger will see $10 billion&nbsp;in cost, capex synergies, reports said.

&quot;Vodafone Group Plc and Idea Cellular announced that they have reached an agreement to combine their operations in India,&quot; they said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

&quot;The combined company would become the leading communications provider in India with almost 400 million customers, 35 per cent customer market share and 41 per cent revenue market share,&quot; the statement added.

The confirmation ended months of speculation that the two operators were ready to sign a deal to help fend off Reliance Jio, whose recent arrival has shaken up India&#39;s ultra-competitive mobile network market.

Shares in Idea rose as much as 14.25 per cent immediately after the merger news but gave up gains to be trading up 3.8 per cent.

The merger of Vodafone - the world&#39;s second-largest cellphone network operator - with the Aditya Birla Group firm - India&#39;s third-largest cellular operator - would create a company with around 387 million users and form one of the largest telecom companies in the world.

Since its entry in India in 2007, Vodafone has become the number-2 operator in the country, but its journey has been tumultuous as it is locked in a legal battle with the government over a $2 billion retrospective tax claim over its acquisition of Vodafone India from Hutchison in 2007.

It had written down value of business by 5 billion pound ($3.35 billion) late last year. The British firm has pumped in more than $7 billion into the India unit.

Backed by India&#39;s richest man Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio Infocomm is offering free voice calls and data till March and has notched up 74 million users. It has already invested over $25 billion and is investing another Rs 30,000 crore ($4.8 billion).

&nbsp;

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In what could be the biggest telecom operator merger in India, Idea Cellular has approved its amalgamation with Vodafone India. (WION)
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(WION)

The merger will create a company with around 387 million users?and form one of the largest telecom companies in the world.

Britain's Vodafone Group will merge its Indian subsidiary with local rival Idea Cellular within two years, Idea said today. The new entity will compete with Reliance Jio that has unleashed a fierce price war. Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the chairman of the merged entity. I am pleased and honoured to be the chairman of the new company: Kumar Mangalam Birla after Vodafone India-IDEA merger (file pic) pic.twitter.com/p7csrklCuz — ANI (@ANI_news) March 20, 2017 × According to some reports, Idea said Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent of the merged entity, after it transfers about 4.9 per cent to promoters of Idea and/or their affiliates for 38.74 billion rupees ($592.15 million) in cash. PTI, however, says both companies will have an equal stake. #Vodafone, #Idea to have equal stakes in the merged entity over a period of time: chiefs of both companies. — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 20, 2017 × The merger will see $10 billion in cost, capex synergies, reports said. "Vodafone Group Plc and Idea Cellular announced that they have reached an agreement to combine their operations in India," they said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). "The combined company would become the leading communications provider in India with almost 400 million customers, 35 per cent customer market share and 41 per cent revenue market share," the statement added. The confirmation ended months of speculation that the two operators were ready to sign a deal to help fend off Reliance Jio, whose recent arrival has shaken up India's ultra-competitive mobile network market. Shares in Idea rose as much as 14.25 per cent immediately after the merger news but gave up gains to be trading up 3.8 per cent. The merger of Vodafone - the world's second-largest cellphone network operator - with the Aditya Birla Group firm - India's third-largest cellular operator - would create a company with around 387 million users and form one of the largest telecom companies in the world. Since its entry in India in 2007, Vodafone has become the number-2 operator in the country, but its journey has been tumultuous as it is locked in a legal battle with the government over a $2 billion retrospective tax claim over its acquisition of Vodafone India from Hutchison in 2007. It had written down value of business by 5 billion pound ($3.35 billion) late last year. The British firm has pumped in more than $7 billion into the India unit. Backed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio Infocomm is offering free voice calls and data till March and has notched up 74 million users. It has already invested over $25 billion and is investing another Rs 30,000 crore ($4.8 billion). In what could be the biggest telecom operator merger in India, Idea Cellular has approved its amalgamation with Vodafone India. (WION) × (WION)

Vodafone, Idea Cellular to merge, set to become India?s largest telecom operator

Global telecom giant Vodafone said it is in discussion to merge its India mobile business with Aditya Birla group&#39;s Idea Cellular - a move that would create the largest telecom entity to take on rivals such as Airtel and Reliance Jio.

&quot;Vodafone confirms that it is in discussions with the Aditya Birla group about an all-share merger of Vodafone India (excluding Vodafone&#39;s 42 per cent stake in Indus Towers) and Idea,&quot; Vodafone said in a statement.

Any merger will be effected through issuance of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in de-consolidation of Vodafone India, it added.

A Vodafone-Idea combined entity would have 43 per cent revenue market share as against the 33 per cent of Bharti Airtel currently and 13 per cent for Reliance Jio by 2018-19, a CLSA report had said.

Vodafone did not share the details of the potential deal, saying, &quot;there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor as to the terms or timing of any transaction&quot;.

While Bharti Airtel is the largest telecom operator in India with 263.35 million mobile subscribers, Vodafone has 202.79 million users and Idea Cellular 187.68 million.

With 32.84 per cent, Bharti Airtel has the maximum market share, but the combined entity of Vodafone India and Idea will command 43 per cent, say analysts.

&quot;Our analysis of a potential merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular reveals that such a mega deal would change the industry order,&quot; CLSA had said.

(PTI)

The idea behind this merger is to take on rivals such as Airtel and Reliance Jio

Global telecom giant Vodafone said it is in discussion to merge its India mobile business with Aditya Birla group's Idea Cellular - a move that would create the largest telecom entity to take on rivals such as Airtel and Reliance Jio. "Vodafone confirms that it is in discussions with the Aditya Birla group about an all-share merger of Vodafone India (excluding Vodafone's 42 per cent stake in Indus Towers) and Idea," Vodafone said in a statement. Any merger will be effected through issuance of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in de-consolidation of Vodafone India, it added. A Vodafone-Idea combined entity would have 43 per cent revenue market share as against the 33 per cent of Bharti Airtel currently and 13 per cent for Reliance Jio by 2018-19, a CLSA report had said. Vodafone did not share the details of the potential deal, saying, "there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed, nor as to the terms or timing of any transaction". While Bharti Airtel is the largest telecom operator in India with 263.35 million mobile subscribers, Vodafone has 202.79 million users and Idea Cellular 187.68 million. With 32.84 per cent, Bharti Airtel has the maximum market share, but the combined entity of Vodafone India and Idea will command 43 per cent, say analysts. "Our analysis of a potential merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular reveals that such a mega deal would change the industry order," CLSA had said. (PTI)

Vodafone in merger talks with Idea Cellular in India

India&#39;s Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has sanctioned the telecom regulatory authority to impose a cumulative fine of Rs 3,050 crore ($4.48 billion) on three telecom operators -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular -- for poor service quality. 
 
&quot;Attorney General has opined that DoT (Department of Telecom) can impose penalty on telecom operators for violating quality of service rules,&quot; a source told PTI.

This comes after Reliance Jio complained that over 75 per cent of calls on its network were failing as incumbents were not giving sufficient points of interconnect to help complete calls -- a move which has been dubbed as &quot;anti-consumer&quot;.

If the DoT intends to levy a penalty, Airtel and Vodafone would have to pay Rs 1,050 crore ($1.5 billion) penalty and Idea would have to pay Rs 950 ($1.3 billion) crore fine.

The three service proders had come close to seeing their licence being revoked by Indian authorities. The only saving grace for them was that it would lead to &quot;significant consumer inconvenience&quot;.

TRAI, the telecom regulatory authority, found the three companies were non-compliant with licence conditions and service quality norms, leading to the high rate of call failures and congestion at interconnect points for Reliance Jio, the new entrant in the telecom market.

Reacting to the development, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said, &quot;We have taken a position that these penalties have been completely done in haste. We have written to TRAI, we have written to DoT. What I understand, DoT has set up a committee to look into this recommendation of TRAI. We are all waiting for the outcome of that.&quot;

(WION with inputs from PTI)

The three companies very close to having their licence revoked by Indian authorities for trying to stymie Reliance Jio's service

India's Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has sanctioned the telecom regulatory authority to impose a cumulative fine of Rs 3,050 crore ($4.48 billion) on three telecom operators -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular -- for poor service quality. "Attorney General has opined that DoT (Department of Telecom) can impose penalty on telecom operators for violating quality of service rules," a source told PTI. This comes after Reliance Jio complained that over 75 per cent of calls on its network were failing as incumbents were not giving sufficient points of interconnect to help complete calls -- a move which has been dubbed as "anti-consumer". If the DoT intends to levy a penalty, Airtel and Vodafone would have to pay Rs 1,050 crore ($1.5 billion) penalty and Idea would have to pay Rs 950 ($1.3 billion) crore fine. The three service proders had come close to seeing their licence being revoked by Indian authorities. The only saving grace for them was that it would lead to "significant consumer inconvenience". TRAI, the telecom regulatory authority, found the three companies were non-compliant with licence conditions and service quality norms, leading to the high rate of call failures and congestion at interconnect points for Reliance Jio, the new entrant in the telecom market. Reacting to the development, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said, "We have taken a position that these penalties have been completely done in haste. We have written to TRAI, we have written to DoT. What I understand, DoT has set up a committee to look into this recommendation of TRAI. We are all waiting for the outcome of that." (WION with inputs from PTI)

India's top law officer green-lights $4 billion penalty on telcos for poor service

British telecom&nbsp;giant Vodafone agreed Friday to sell its Dutch fixed-line business Vodafone Thuis to Germany&#39;s T-Mobile, but did not give a price.

The London-listed firm had pledged to sell the unit in February, in order to win European Commission approval for the merger of Vodafone Netherlands with Liberty Global&#39;s Dutch division Ziggo.

&quot;Vodafone Group Plc confirms that Vodafone Netherlands has agreed to sell its consumer fixed business, Vodafone Thuis, to T-Mobile Netherlands Holding for an undisclosed sum,&quot; it said in a brief statement.

Vodafone Thuis has approximately 150,000 consumer fixed broadband customers. The transaction is expected to close in December 2016.

Britain&#39;s Vodafone is second only to China Mobile in terms of subscriber numbers.

(AFP)

The firm had pledged to sell the unit in February in order to win European Commission approval for a merger

British telecom giant Vodafone agreed Friday to sell its Dutch fixed-line business Vodafone Thuis to Germany's T-Mobile, but did not give a price. The London-listed firm had pledged to sell the unit in February, in order to win European Commission approval for the merger of Vodafone Netherlands with Liberty Global's Dutch division Ziggo. "Vodafone Group Plc confirms that Vodafone Netherlands has agreed to sell its consumer fixed business, Vodafone Thuis, to T-Mobile Netherlands Holding for an undisclosed sum," it said in a brief statement. Vodafone Thuis has approximately 150,000 consumer fixed broadband customers. The transaction is expected to close in December 2016. Britain's Vodafone is second only to China Mobile in terms of subscriber numbers. (AFP)

Vodafone sells Dutch consumer arm to T-Mobile

The regulator of telecommunication sector in India on Friday recommended Indian ministry of communications and information technology &#39;s department of telecommunications (DoT) to impose a total penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on incumbent players &mdash;Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular &mdash;for denying interconnection facility to newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm.

While Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have been slapped with a fine of Rs 50 crore for 21 circles each (except in the northernmost Jammu and Kashmir) state, &nbsp;Idea faced the same amount of penalty for 19 circles each, Indian news agency PTI reported.&nbsp;

In its capacity as the licensor, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in a letter to &nbsp;(DoT), said that the regulator stopped short of cancelling licences, despite the violation of licence conditions by these companies, as it would cause massive inconvenience to the companies, according to Indian media.&nbsp;

&ldquo;However, the authority is mindful of the fact that revocation of the licence will entail significant consumer inconvenience and therefore in view of the larger public interest involved, the authority recommends a penal action of Rs 50 crore per LSA (circle)&hellip;,&rdquo; the statement said.&nbsp;

The recommendation comes in the wake of complaint by Reliance Jio, which launched its services on September 5, where it was alleged that the incumbent players were denying it sufficient number of interconnection ports leading to huge call failures.&nbsp;

Taking note of the complaint, TRAI said that denial of interconnection &#39;appears to be with ulterior motive to stifle competiton and is anti-cosumer&#39;.&nbsp;

The incumbents, however, have claimed they have provided sufficient Point of Interconnections &nbsp;(POIs) to Jio, according to several reports.&nbsp;

Reliance Jio has said its customers are facing 75 per cent call failures on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular networks due to insufficient interconnection facility provided by the incumbent operators, PTI reported. As per the service quality norms, not more than five out of 1000 calls should fail at the point of interconnect. &nbsp;

(WION with inputs from PTI)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Reliance Jio had approached TRAI alleging that the players were denying it interconnection ports leading to huge network failures

The regulator of telecommunication sector in India on Friday recommended Indian ministry of communications and information technology 's department of telecommunications (DoT) to impose a total penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on incumbent players —Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular —for denying interconnection facility to newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm. While Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have been slapped with a fine of Rs 50 crore for 21 circles each (except in the northernmost Jammu and Kashmir) state, Idea faced the same amount of penalty for 19 circles each, Indian news agency PTI reported. In its capacity as the licensor, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in a letter to (DoT), said that the regulator stopped short of cancelling licences, despite the violation of licence conditions by these companies, as it would cause massive inconvenience to the companies, according to Indian media. “However, the authority is mindful of the fact that revocation of the licence will entail significant consumer inconvenience and therefore in view of the larger public interest involved, the authority recommends a penal action of Rs 50 crore per LSA (circle)…,” the statement said. The recommendation comes in the wake of complaint by Reliance Jio, which launched its services on September 5, where it was alleged that the incumbent players were denying it sufficient number of interconnection ports leading to huge call failures. Taking note of the complaint, TRAI said that denial of interconnection 'appears to be with ulterior motive to stifle competiton and is anti-cosumer'. The incumbents, however, have claimed they have provided sufficient Point of Interconnections (POIs) to Jio, according to several reports. Reliance Jio has said its customers are facing 75 per cent call failures on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular networks due to insufficient interconnection facility provided by the incumbent operators, PTI reported. As per the service quality norms, not more than five out of 1000 calls should fail at the point of interconnect. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Reliance Jio connectivity row:  TRAI recommends Rs 3,050 cr fine on Airtel, Vodafone, Idea

India started its biggest ever telecoms airwaves auction on Saturday, receiving 535.31 billion rupees ($8.04 billion) worth of bids on the first day of the sale, a senior government official said.

Market leaders Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone&#39;s local unit and Idea Cellular Ltd are pitted against new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in the battle for airwaves to boost their high-speed data services in what is the world`s second-biggest market by mobile phone subscriptions.

The total value of the airwaves put on the block is estimated to be worth $84 billion based on the auction reserve price set by the government, although industry executives and analysts expect only part of it to be sold.

Data released by the government`s Department of Telecom (DoT) at the end of five rounds of bidding on Saturday showed carriers stayed away from the most-efficient yet pricey 700 megahertz (MHz) band of airwaves.

The 1800 MHz band of airwaves that can also do 4G and are available at less than a quarter of the price of the 700 MHz band saw higher bidding. http://bit.ly/2dwoXy3

The DoT will not release carrier-specific bidding data until the end of the auction. Bidding resumes on Monday. 
($1 = 66.5458 Indian rupees)

(Reuters)

The total value of the airwaves put on the block is estimated to be worth $84 billion

India started its biggest ever telecoms airwaves auction on Saturday, receiving 535.31 billion rupees ($8.04 billion) worth of bids on the first day of the sale, a senior government official said. Market leaders Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone's local unit and Idea Cellular Ltd are pitted against new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in the battle for airwaves to boost their high-speed data services in what is the world`s second-biggest market by mobile phone subscriptions. The total value of the airwaves put on the block is estimated to be worth $84 billion based on the auction reserve price set by the government, although industry executives and analysts expect only part of it to be sold. Data released by the government`s Department of Telecom (DoT) at the end of five rounds of bidding on Saturday showed carriers stayed away from the most-efficient yet pricey 700 megahertz (MHz) band of airwaves. The 1800 MHz band of airwaves that can also do 4G and are available at less than a quarter of the price of the 700 MHz band saw higher bidding. http://bit.ly/2dwoXy3 The DoT will not release carrier-specific bidding data until the end of the auction. Bidding resumes on Monday. ($1 = 66.5458 Indian rupees) (Reuters)

India gets $8 billion worth telecom spectrum bids on auction's first day

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