Vodafone Idea, a joint venture between Britain’s Vodafone and India’s Idea Cellular, said it will go by the brand name “Vi”. The venture confirmed on Monday, the plans to rebrand itself as the debt-ridden telecoms carrier, which has been losing customers, plans to change its image three years after it announced the biggest merger in India’s telecoms market.
Posted by Idea on Monday, 7 September 2020
On Friday the loss-making carrier approved fundraising of up to Rs 25,000 crore at a time it owes roughly Rs 50,000 crore ($6.81 billion) in dues to the government. According to the Supreme Court order, the dues will have to be paid over a period of ten years.
Vodafone Group Plc CEO Nick Read said:
“This is an important next step to launch our new unified business under a new unified brand, Vi. Back in 2018, the combination of Vodafone India and Idea created the new champion for the government’s vision of Digital India. As the integration of the two businesses is now complete, it’s time for a fresh start,”
Posted by Vi business India on Monday, 7 September 2020
Meanwhile commenting on the new brand, the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited Kumar Mangalam Birla stated:
“With 1.2 billion Indians accessing voice and data services at the world’s lowest tariffs across 5 lakh villages, the ubiquitous wireless network in India is unmatched for its reach and impact in people’s lives. With our new brand – Vi, we stand committed to partner the Government to accelerate India’s progression towards a digital economy, enabling millions of citizens to connect to the digital revolution and build a better tomorrow.”
Telecom carriers in the country have already raised some subscription tariffs as they look for ways to pay down government levies.
Here is what JIO tweeted right after the big news came out,
Vi love to see you together. @VodafoneIN @Idea #JioTogether 😉#WithLoveFromJio
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) September 7, 2020
