Loss-making telco Vodafone Idea has awarded Rs 30,000 crore worth of contracts to Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung to supply 4G and 5G network equipment for the next three years.
Nokia and Ericsson are Vodafone Idea's long-term partners while Samsung is a new entrant. The move is part of the struggling telecom operator's Rs 55,000 crore capital expenditure plan.
The company expects to expand the 4G coverage from the current 1.03 billion Indian subscribers to 1.2 billion as well as launching 5G in key markets with the new contracts. n energy and thus lower operating costs
The supplies will start coming in from the upcoming third quarter starting October. against these new long-term awards will start in the coming quarter.
The telco stated that after the recent fundraising via an FPO and the additional spectrum acquisition of Rs 35 billion in June, it was able to execute some quick-win capital expenditure by deploying more spectrum on existing sites as well as foraying into new areas. The company claims the move has helped it boost its capacity by 15 per cent and increase its population coverage by 16 million by end of September. It added that there is an improvement in the customer experience in places where the rollout was completed.
Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said the telco continues to invest in emerging network technologies and will stage a smart turnaround to participae in the industry growth opportunities.
The shares of Vodafone Idea slumped around 20 per cent on Thursday, witnessing the biggest single-day drop since January 2022. On Friday, it plunged a further 5 per cent, hitting a 52-week-low of Rs 9.79 apiece. This came after the Supreme Court dismissed the telecom firm's Curative Petition for relief on its AGR dues of Rs 703 billion.
On June 27, the shares of the telco hit its 52-week-high of Rs 19.18 per share after it declared a tariff hike along with rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.