New Delhi: Debt-ridden Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) plans to shut down its 2G services in about a month and continue to operate 3G and 4G services till the time they remain profitable, people with knowledge of the matter said.
RCom executive director Gurdeep Singh is learnt to have informed employees that the company has reached a “situation where we need to call it a day on our wireless business” and this would lead to closure of “wireless business 30 days from now”.
The company will “continue to operate international long distance (ILD) voice, consumer voice and 4G dongle post-paid services” and mobile tower business till the time they remain profitable and all the other businesses will be shut down, he has said.
An email query sent to RCom remained unanswered.
The move comes after Reliance Communications, reeling under debt of around Rs46,000 crore, failed to close to its wireless business merger deal with Aircel in the beginning of October.
RCom and Aircel had in September 2016 signed a binding agreement to merge their mobile businesses. But, on Sunday, RCom announced that the agreement had lapsed owing to legal and regulatory uncertainties, objections by interested parties and delays in receiving relevant approvals.
Singh is also learnt to have mentioned closure of company’s DTH business once its licence expires on 21 November.
While Aircel was one of the several possible transactions that Ambani was pushing for to reduce RCom’s debt, the company said on Sunday that it will consider an alternate plan to cut debt, which includes sharing and trading of its spectrum or airwaves valued at about Rs19,000 crore.
Reliance Group companies have sued HT Media Ltd, Mint’s publisher, and nine others in the Bombay high court over a 2 October 2014 front-page story that they have disputed. HT Media is contesting the case.