The top executives of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are planning to meet top government officials starting today on strategies that were prepared by the two companies over the weekend regarding the recent Supreme Court order on the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), The Economic Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The SC order held that all revenues, except for termination fee and roaming charges, will be a part of the AGR. Telcos had argued that non-telecom, non-core revenues should not be a part of the AGR. The order has exposed the incumbent telcos to potential demands by DOT of up to Rs 1.33 lakh crore.
According to the officials cited in ET report, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are combing through the verdict and are preparing a financial and legal plan to raise funds to be able to stay viable.
“We can’t participate in 5G auctions and trials. They’re nowhere among the top priorities,” one of the two executives was quoted as saying in the report.
When contacted by the paper, the two companies didn’t respond to queries.
The Supreme Court has held that Rs 92,000 crore of unpaid license dues will have to be paid within 3 months. This means that Bharti would have to cough up Rs 21,682 crore and Voda Idea will have to pay Rs 28,300 crore within 3 months.
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