A tough call: Can VIL face the onslaught of rivals Jio, Airtel in 5G race?

Crippling debt, falling subscriber numbers, super-aggressive competitors and a government dragging its feet on a debt-to-equity conversion make the going tricky

Can Vodafone-Idea Ltd (VIL) face the onslaught of its rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the 5G race and manage to hold on to its customers as it battles growing financial challenges?

If the signals from the last week were anything to go by, this will be a tough ask. The company has three problems: Continuously shrinking subscriber numbers with rivals gaining at its expense; growing concern from its vendors (tower companies and telecom gear makers) over its delay in paying dues estimated by analysts at Rs 7,000 crore-8,000 crore; and its elusive effort to raise Rs 20,000 crore