Telecom Diary: Duopoly in Indian telecom market?

Will the Indian telecom market, which once boasted of 12 players, be reduced to a duopoly? Signs are quite visible.

Vi hopes were dashed last week when the Supreme Court dismissed telecom players’ modification plea for calculating adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The situation has become so grim that Deutsche Bank in its research note recommended that the government must take state control of Vi by merging it with Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and recapitalise it to save it from going bankrupt.

Vi is reeling under a huge debt of 1.8 lakh crore, out of which a staggering 1.5 lakh crore has to be paid to the government. Deferred spectrum dues stand at Rs 96,270 crore, AGR dues at Rs 58,400 crore, and a bank debt of Rs 23,080 crore.