Vodafone and Idea, the two brands of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) have together been rebranded as “Vi” (read as “We”) from Monday and with this new brand identity, the two distinct brands will now fade away.
“The integration of two brands is a culmination of the largest telecom integration in the world,” VIL said in a filing with the stock exchanges.
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“Vi is future ready and is committed to dynamically serve and enable a digital society to progress in life,” it added.
Unveiling the new brand, Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, VIL said, “Vodafone Idea came together as a merged entity two years ago [August 31, 2018]. We have, since then focussed on integrating two large networks, our people and processes. And today I am delighted to present Vi, a brand that will bring important meaning to lives of our customers.”
He said the brand integration not only marked the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but also set the company on its future journey to offer ‘world class digital experiences to 1 Billion Indians on our strong 4G network.’
“VIL is now leaner and agile, and the deployment of many principles of 5G architecture has helped us transform into a future-fit, digital network for the changing customer needs. The new brand launch signifies our desire to not just deliver, but delight our customers, stakeholders, communities and our employees and signals our passion and commitment to be a Champion for Digital India.”
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Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group & VIL in a video statement said, “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.”
Nick Read, CEO, Vodafone Group Plc. in a statement said, “This is an important next step to launch our new unified business under a new unified brand, Vi. As the integration of the two businesses is now complete, it’s time for a fresh start. That’s why we believe that now is the perfect time to launch Vi, one company which combines the strengths of Vodafone India and Idea. Vi’s focus will be to deliver to citizens and businesses in India a superior network experience, better customer service and leading products and services.”
With the rebranding the company has promised a stronger, better, faster and future-fit network built on many principles of 5G architecture.
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The company said the recent board approval to raise ₹25,000 crore by way of equity and debt would be sufficient to meet future capital requirements. “The ₹25,000 crore is sufficient amount of money to meet business plan. We are yet to finalize the details [on this fund raising],” Mr. Takkar said.
On the speculations about roping in a strategic investor and the possibility of Vodafone Plc not investing any more in the Indian venture, Mr Takkar said, “We have not taken any decision [on any strategic investor] and we have strong support from both our promoters and they will decide on equity infusion in the near future.”
He said as per the Supreme Court order the first instalment of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues is scheduled in March 2022.
