THE TUMULT IN TELECOM

HOW POLICY AMBIGUITIES AND A PROTRACTED LEGAL BATTLE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OVER REVENUE SHARING HAVE PUSHED INDIAN TELECOM PLAYERS TO THE BRINK

- M.G. ARUN

On February 17, three days after the Supreme Court pulled up telcos for not abiding by its January 16 order to clear the dues, Vodafone Idea made a Rs 2,500 crore part-payment to the DoT, with the assurance that it will pay another Rs 1,000 crore by February 21. Bharti Airtel said it had paid Rs 10,000 crore to the DoT while Tata Teleservices paid Rs 2,197 crore.

While the telcos have sought relief from the hefty payments, Vodafone Idea’s case is particularly complicated, with the court rejecting its plea that the DoT be directed not to invoke the company’s bank guarantees—reportedly about Rs 2,500 crore—to recover dues. “I hope good sense prevails over the government that if it encashes the guarantees, the banks will pay, but the company will go down,” Vodafone Idea’s counsel Mukul Rohatgi told a TV channel.

Industry observers say if Vodafone Idea shuts down, the consequences will be drastic. “It will be a terrible thing for the economy, the banking system, the telecom industry and its customers, suppliers and digital partners,” says a telecom official, requesting anonymity. “Unlike airlines, where the supply breach caused by the closure of, say, Jet Airways could be filled by other players, in telecom, capacity cannot be replaced, including the enormous physical infrastructure. In such cases, the executive should wield its powers and step in to save the operator.”