The deal marks the first step towards the rollout of the company’s three-year capex plan of $6.6 billion (Rs. 550 billion), said the Vi.
The capex programme is directed towards expanding the 4G population coverage from 1.03 billion to 1.2 billion, launching 5G in key markets and capacity expansion in line with data growth, as per the company.
“The Company has continued with its existing long-term partners Nokia and Ericsson and also onboarded Samsung as a new partner.”
Vi said, the contracts will allow the Company to quickly capitalize on the latest state-of-the-art equipment to offer enhanced customer experience.
Further, the learnings and insights obtained by the vendors in the Indian market over the last two years, will enable the company to embark on a more flexible and modular rollout plan by customising the services for all advanced technologies (4G & 5G), it added. “In addition, the new equipment will also lead to efficiency gains in energy and thus lower operating costs.”The supplies against these new longterm awards will start in the coming quarter. The top priority for the Company, it says “is to expand the 4G coverage to 1.2 billion Indians.”
“We are committed to invest in emerging network technologies to provide a best-in-class experience to our customers. We have kickstarted the investment cycle. We are on our journey of VIL 2.0 and from hereon, VIL will stage a smart turnaround to effectively participate in the industry growth opportunities. Nokia and Ericsson have been our partners since our inception and this marks another milestone in that continuing partnership. We are pleased to start our new partnership with Samsung. We look forward to work closely with all our partners as we move into the 5G era,” Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court this week rejected a batch of pleas by telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, for re-computation of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the companies on the basis of which the government collects spectrum and licence fees from them.
Vi had outstanding dues of Rs 2,03,430 crore to the government as of March 31, 2024. The total outstanding includes deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,33,110 crore and the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) liability of Rs 70,320 crore. The company had expected the court to give it relief on payment of the last amount, Rs 70,320 crore.