Vodafone Idea to avail spectrum fee moratorium

The board of Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Wednesday accepted taking the federal government’s provide to avail the four-year spectrum fee moratorium introduced earlier as a part of the aid bundle for the telecom sector. In a regulatory submitting, Vi stated the opposite choices within the DoT’s notification will likely be thought-about by the board of administrators inside the stipulated timeframe.
“We wish to inform you that the board of directors of the company has approved the exercise of the option of deferment of the company’s spectrum auction instalments for a period of 4 years (October 2021 to September 2025) in accordance with the notification dated October 14, 2021 issued by the Department of Telecommunications to the company,” it stated.
The Centre lately accepted a aid bundle for the sector that features a four-year break for corporations from paying statutory dues, permission to share scarce airwaves, change within the definition of income on which levies are paid and 100 per cent international funding by way of the automated route.
The measures additionally embody scrapping of spectrum utilization cost (SUC) for airwaves acquired in future spectrum auctions. For the previous dues, the Centre has allowed a moratorium or deferment of as much as 4 years in annual funds. But the telecom corporations must pay curiosity throughout the moratorium interval. Vi shares rose 6.40 per cent to Rs 10.64 on BSE.

The authorities final week wrote to telecom operators asking them to convey by October 29 if they might be choosing the four-year moratorium. It has additionally given 90 days’ time to the telcos to point in the event that they wish to go for changing the curiosity quantity pertaining to the moratorium interval into fairness. Along with this selection, the audited monetary statements of the instantly previous monetary 12 months (FY21) must be submitted, in keeping with the letter despatched to the telcos. Meanwhile, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s newest subscription information says Jio added the utmost subscribers in August, 12 months adopted by Bharati Airtel whereas Vodafone-Idea misplaced about 8.33 lakh subscribers.