In 2018 Vodafone IN and Idea Cellular came together to form VI (Vodafone Idea) and back then this event temporarily made them the biggest network operator in India with over 450M subscribers in 2018
(Pictures from Wayback Machine)
But today 7 years later their subscriber base reduced by 50%, and now they are barely managing to touch
200M and occasionally dropping to
195M subscribers making them the 3rd largest telecom operator in India
from 450 Million (45cr) to 200Million (20cr) is a crazy downfall tbh but the fact that they are still alive is what makes it more crazy
In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharti Airtel owed significant Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, totaling around Rs 1.47 lakh crore, including license fees, spectrum usage charges, and penalties. Which Vi needs to pay in EMIs for the next 20 years or something
Currently, this debt has risen even more and hovers at more than 2 Lakh crore
Due to so many financial Constraints there were rumors that Vodafone UK ,the parent Company of Vodafone IN wanted to exit the Indian market entirely and even declare bankruptcy
Later by 2021 ,looking at the desperate situation of Vi. Govt of India had to announce the following reliefs
1. Telecom Relief Package (September 15, 2021) which as a Four-Year Moratorium: Deferred AGR and spectrum dues payments for four years (until October 2025)
2. Debt-to-Equity Conversion (February 3, 2022 – January 10, 2023) the conversion was completed on January 10, 2023. The government took a 35.8% stake (later diluted to 33% after VI’s 2024 equity raise), making it the largest shareholder.
3. Additional Support (2023-2024) The DoT waived ₹24,800 crore in bank guarantees for pre-2022 spectrum auctions, easing VI’s cash flow and borrowing capacity. Announced in late 2024, this built on earlier reforms.
the data of fianancialy woes isnt completely accurate ,since we want to discuss about Vi's future and i wanted to give a rough idea
Apart from Financial constraints Vi has many other problems such as
1. No Pan India 4G
2. Expensive tariffs even tho Vi has network issues
3. lowest ARPU (when compared to Jio and Airtel)
4. 5G only in Mumbai as of (27th Mar 2025) ,and crawling to other cities next month
From an Ordinary customers POV ,getting a Vi sim is really terrible idea ,since if you are paying minimum 350 or 380Rs a month then why not go for Jio or Airtel since both have a far superior network than VI and have 5G unlimited (Jio is Unlimited while Airtel gives 300gb)
why would anyone want to spend money on Vi when are troubled with network problems or need to carry an additional sim like me, to avoid having a complete network fall out
Future of Vi
Now here is where i think the situation is actually quite bad
Possible solutions and why it cannot be implemented (In my opinion)
1. Govt of India somehow becomes the biggest shareholder at 49% but then Govt doesn't want to handle Vi since they already are barely managing BSNL and MTNL
2. Vi announces further traiff cuts and brings 5G back to 249Rs a month ,to increase ARPU . this is the most unlikely because there is that one board member or someone at Vi who thought its a good idea to increase tariffs (company dubaya nahi toh life mein kiya kya) but then again im nowhere close to being a financial expert and my comments are from a mere telecom nerd ,who knows what Vi's financial advisors saw that i cant.
3. Govt of India reduces the prices of spectrum ,highly unlikely again
anyway what do you guys think how would Vi actually survive the market ?
The data of financial woes isnt completely accurate ,since we want to discuss Vi's future and I wanted to give a rough idea*
