Vi fails to secure US DFC funding for 5G OpenRAN deployment

Vodafone Idea failed to get funding from US’ International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for the deployment of OpenRAN and related technologies for the 5G network, the telecom department has said in an internal report.

The DFC is the US government’s development finance institution that invests in multiple sectors.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in a January 4 confidential report, said the cash-strapped telco had reported verbally that it was talks with DFC for funding Open-RAN and related technologies. Progress was yet to be reported even after a lapse of four months.

The government is the biggest shareholder in Vodafone Idea, with a 33.1 percent stake.

The DoT highlighted the mounting dues of the telecom operator. According to the report, the telco may face an annual regulatory liability of over Rs 30,000 crore after its four-year payment moratorium ends in FY26. This liability includes deferred spectrum dues from past auctions and annual instalments for one-time adjusted gross revenue (AGR)–related dues.

The company has been issued a show-cause notice by the department, as it needs to clear the pending licence fees (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the September quarter, which amounts to around Rs 700 crore, including interest. This was due to the continuing liquidity challenges faced by the telco, the DoT said in its report.

The telco is also to pay Rs 900 crore for LF and SUC dues for the December quarter, which was due on January 15. It has to pay a Rs 163.5 crore annual instalment by March for spectrum purchases made in the 2021 auction.

The DoT, in its note, also estimated that the struggling telecom company would have to pay off Rs 2.34 lakh crore of auction-related dues by 2042. The telco will also need to clear Rs 1 lakh crore of AGR-related dues till FY19, payable between 2025 and 2031.

Vodafone Idea is in talks with Samsung and Mavenir for virtualised RAN or VRAN and OpenRAN-based 5G network, respectively. It is exploring both technologies to reduce the cost of deployment for its upcoming 5G network. Moneycontrol