Budget 2018-19

  Company makes the first move to improve the financial sustainability of the telecom sector. Telecom firm Bharti Airtel has hiked by around 20 per cent its pre-paid plans, making the first move to improve the financial sustainability of the sector.  Vodafone Idea  ( Vi, is expected to follow suit, as its chief executive officer Ravinder Takkar indicated last week that tariff hikes will happen soon. The company however has not yet made an announcement. Airtel and Vi had hiked rates in entry-level pre-paid plans and certain postpaid and family packs a few months back. Airtel’s latest hikes will be for rates across all slabs (Rs 79 to Rs 2,498). It increased rates for data top-ups as well and said the new tariff plan will come into effect from November 26. Pre-paid customers account for 90-95 per cent of customer base for  Airtel  and Vi. “Bharti Airtel has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs...

  DoT requested Supreme Court to give it four weeks so that it can take an “informed decision” whether to proceed with its appeal against an order by Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. The department of telecommunications (DoT) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday it is reconsidering its decision to proceed with an appeal filed against a tribunal order in April 2019 on the issue of recovery of one-time spectrum user charges (SUC) from companies to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore. It requested the court to give the government four weeks so that it can take an “informed decision” whether to proceed with its appeal against an order by Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. The move is significant, as there are pending cases between  telecom companies  (telcos) and the government in various courts involving substantial amount of financial dues. According to sources, the number of cases go to over 200 in the Supreme Court itself. A DoT study done a few y...

  The nearest month any increase could occur is November since OPEC+’s last meeting decided the October volumes OPEC+ is considering going beyond its existing deal to boost production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) when it meets next week, sources said, at a time when oil prices are near a three-year high and consumers are pressing for more supply. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries andallies led by Russia, known as  OPEC+ , meets on Monday to review output policy. In July, the group agreed to boost output by 400,000 bpd a month to phase out 5.8 million bpd in cuts. Four OPEC+ sources said producers were considering adding more than that deal envisaged, but none gave details on how much more, or when supply would increase. Another OPEC+ source suggested an increase of 800,000 bpd for one month was possible, with zero the next month. The nearest month any increase could occur is November since OPEC+’s last meeting decided the October volumes. “We cannot exc...

  The telecom department had issued demand notes to the three operators on March 8, and the deadline for making the upfront payment was Thursday Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea on Thursday made upfront payments for the spectrum bought in the recently concluded auctions. It is learnt that while Reliance Jio has made a payment of Rs 15,019 crore, Bharti Airtel and Vi paid Rs 6,323 crore and Rs 574 crore, respectively. The  telecom department  had issued demand notes to the three operators on March 8, and the deadline for making the upfront payment was Thursday. Reliance Jio emerged the highest bidder in the 4G telecom spectrum auction, beating incumbents Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea by a wide margin. The Centre would get Rs 77,815 crore from the two-day auction — one of the shortest in a decade. While the amount has exceeded the government expectation, the total mop-up is far below the Rs 3.92 trillion worth of airwaves put up for sale. The spectrum has be...

  Varde Partners among the other participants; Bloomberg report does not specify how the potential deal between the two parties would be structured A consortium led by Oaktree Capital Management has proposed providing capital of at least $2 billion (Rs 15,000 crore) to Vodafone Idea as the telecom company seeks funds for capital expenditure and debt servicing. Oaktree has teamed up with several other firms including Varde Partners, Bloomberg reported today. The report did not specify how the potential deal between the two parties would be structured but said that the Oaktree backed consortium has offered around $2-2.5 billion to the stressed telecom firm. Vodafone Idea had announced plans to raise upto Rs 25,000 crore through a mix of debt and equity in September. Late last month following the second quarter results the company’s chief executive officer Ravinder Takkar said the fund raising plans are on track and would be completed in three months. “We are in discussions with inter...

The top court will hear pleas from the consortium of banks and RCom against stay of assets sale by HC on April 5   The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained on Reliance Communication's sale of assets to R-Jio on pleas by a consortium of banks. The apex court bench, comprising Justices A K Goel, R F Nariman and U U Lalit, refused to lift the stay ordered by Bombay High Court on R-Com asset sale. The top court will hear pleas from the consortium of banks and RCom against stay of assets sale by HC on April 5. The State Bank of India had yesterday moved the apex court challenging a tribunal's order, which was upheld by the Bombay High Court, allowing Ericsson to stake a claim on RCom Consolidated's assets. RCom owes Indian lenders Rs 420 billion. RCom Consolidated incorporates the Anil Ambani-led group's Reliance Communications, Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom. Apart from SBI, 24 other Indian lenders const...