Vodafone Idea India Chief Pledges To Expedite 5G Rollout

Vodafone Idea Ltd. is planning to launch 5G services soon, the cash-strapped telecom operator's Chief Executive Akshaya Moondra told reporters during a conference on Monday. The Aditya Birla Group's firm, that was unable to execute the 5G rollout due to insufficient capital, has completed testing for the rollout and will finally commence deployment of the services soon, he said.

The company expects 5G services to cover nearly 40% of its revenue over the next 10-15 months.

The management said that the telecom player has reduced its financial debt by Rs 17,000 crore over the last two years. The CEO added that there was no ongoing conversation with the government for deferment of debt payment.

"The government didn't have direct role in pricing of the FPO," Moondra clarified.

Last week, Vodafone Idea had filed a red herring prospectus for its upcoming follow-on public offer to raise up to Rs 18,000 crore. It had approved a price band of Rs 10-11per share for its upcoming offer.

NDTV Profit had previously reported that the company is planning to launch a follow-on public offering next week to raise as much as Rs 20,000 crore, according to people aware of the development.

Shares of Vodafone Idea rose 1.2% to Rs 13.12 as of 1:30 pm on Bombay Stock Exchange, compared to to 0.8% fall in the country's benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.