Vi lines up ₹45,000-crore capex over 3 years in turnaround bid

Mumbai: Vodafone Idea (Vi) will invest Rs 45,000 crore in capital expenditure over the next three years to accelerate network upgrades, achieve 5G parity in key markets and drive a turnaround in performance, chief executive Abhijit Kishore said on Wednesday.

“This is in addition to the Rs 18,000 crore that we have already invested over the last six quarters. So, if you see, over a four-and-a-half-year period, we would be investing more than Rs 60,000 crore,” Kishore said in post-earnings call.

The telco, which has been struggling to compete with bigger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, is aiming for a double-digit revenue growth and three times the Ebitda in the next three years. “That’s the pretty ambitious goal,” Kishore said.


“I think the game here is now to move from survival and suspicion to strength, and from the intent to really move into the impact of making a meaningful constructive long-term impact,” he said.

Vi, which received multiple interventions of relief from the government, is eyeing a reset following the recent relief on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

Earlier in the day, Aditya Birla Group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla hailed the AGR decision as a turning point for Vi, paving the way to focus on growing its business sustainably. “For the first time in years, the fog has cleared, allowing the business to look beyond survival, and focus on sustainable growth,” he said in a statement.

The proposed investment will prioritise 17 circles that contribute 99.2% of Vi’s revenue for full 4G parity with Jio and Airtel within 12-24 months, followed by aggressive 5G rollout covering all urban areas within 12-30 months.

The strategy also includes converting remaining 2G sites to 4G in select markets and exploring fixed wireless access (FWA) for home broadband.

Vi plans to triple its Ebitda in three years from improved subscriber retention, a jump in average revenue per user (ARPU) with 5G data users joining its subscriber base, and operational efficiencies via in-sourced network operations and AI-led cost controls, Kishore said.

Funding will come from Rs 25,000 crore in bank debt and Rs 10,000 crore in non-funded facilities, maintaining a conservative debt-to-EBITDA ratio. Promoters Vodafone Plc and Aditya Birla Group have planned no immediate equity infusion, he said.

Vi’s renewed business momentum strategy follows major regulatory relief this month when the government froze its AGR dues at Rs 87,695 crore for ten years and agreed to reassess the total liabilities.

Kishore described the relief as a “definitive, conclusive long-term solution.”

He said recent investments have reduced the company’s annual subscriber losses of 15-16 million to 5.3 million in the latest quarters. In priority circles, revenue growth reached 9%-14% , compared to 3% nationally.

According to Kishore, retention over aggressive market-share gains with better network experience has attracted more migrations from competitors. “Four or five quarters back, whatever I was acquiring, I was getting 19% to 20% of my acquisition from the competition. Today, that number still stands at 43%, which means I'm able to attract customers in the market that I'm investing.” he said.