(Image source from: smartprix.com)
Vodafone Idea Ltd which has been losing its customers since its merger three years ago is looking forward to rebranding itself to entice customers.
Vodafone Idea Ltd has said on Monday that it plans to rebrand itself as the debt-ridden telecoms carrier, which has been losing its customers, looks to change its image three years after it announced the biggest merger in India’s telecom market.
The loss making carrier on Friday approved the fundraising of up to 250 billion rupees at a time it owes roughly 500 billion rupees in dues to the government.
The dues, according to the government will have to be paid in the span of 10 years. Vodafone Idea which is a joint venture between Britain’s Vodafone and India’s Idea cellular said that it would rebrand the logo and would go by the name Vi.
Vodafone Idea had two months ago said that it has paid an additional Rs. 1000 crores to the Department of telecommunications towards the adjusted gross revenue dues.
With the latest payment, the company has paid a total of Rs. 7854 crore towards the adjusted gross revenue dues and this was informed by the telecom regulator itself in a regulatory filing.
In the last hearing on the adjusted gross revenue matter, the Supreme Court has asked the telecom operators to file their balance sheets for 10 years including the year ending March 2020. The apex court has also asked to file the income tax returns and the particulars of adjusted gross revenues deposited during the last 10 years.
The top court has also directed the telecom operators to make payments of reasonable amounts and also asked to show their bona fides before the next hearing in July 2020.
The recent merger announcement was made by the MD and CEO Ravinder Takkar who said that the brand integration marks the completion of the world’s largest telecom merger and also gives them the freedom to offer world class services to the 1 billion strong Indian customers on their 4G network.
Vodafone Idea which has a payment of Rs. 58,000 crores has only paid about Rs. 7854 crores and will have to pay Rs. 1124 crore every quarter for the next 10 years.
With Vi, MD Takkar is confident in building the brand that continues to command respect and trust and will be admired and loved by all.
By Gayatri Yellayi
