Airtel was supposed to repay the liabilities in annual instalments between financial years 2026-2027 and 2031-2032, along with interest accrued at 10%.
The telecom sector has seen radical changes in the last few years, and is now poised to transition into a 5G world. The budget, therefore, needs to recognise these and give it a much needed impetus.
A new Supreme Court order burdens telecom companies with additional payments to the government. Already highly leveraged, these companies will put additional stress on banks.
In some relief to the Anil Ambani-led telco, the appellate tribunal directed the telecom department to let the deal with Reliance Jio proceed without a bank guarantee.
Panel, set up to prepare road map for 5G roll-out, has said that the impact of the next generation cellular communications technology can help India leapfrog traditional barriers to development.
The merger sent jitters across the industry that has been dominated by Bharti Airtel for over a decade now, but analysts see it as a consolidation of the telecom industry.
Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan speaks to Fortune India about the 5G roadmap and the aim of giving every citizen 50 mbps of data by 2022 under the new telecom policy expected in June.
