Vodafone Idea expects AGR reassessment outcome soon

• Manish Kumar
• 25 Apr 2026
• 16 Views

On 24 April, 2026, Abhijit Kishore, who is the Vodafone Idea Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said the long-awaited reassessment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues is currently in progress. The company expects clarity from the government-appointed Department of Telecommunications (DoT) committee in a short period of time.

Kishore said, “The reassessment is ongoing. We are just waiting… hopefully it should happen as soon as possible.” He added that while there have been informal indications on timelines, the company is awaiting formal communication from the government. He refused to confirm any specific deadline. However, the market expectations point to a possible June outcome.

A committee had been set up by DoT for reexamination of an issue that has weighed heavily on the telecom industry, specifically for Vodafone Idea, which continues to struggle with onerous AGR dues. 

Signs of Improvement in Operations

As of now, the regulatory clarity remains pending. However, the Vodafone CEO suggested early signs of improvement in operations. He cited data released by TRAI and said the company has shifted from negative to positive subscriber additions in the past few months. He said, “You can see a clear improvement… we’ve moved from negative customer addition into a positive trajectory.” He suggested stabilization in main mobility business of Vodafone Idea.

Kishore chose to remain non-committal on reports of possible infrastructure sharing arrangements and collaborations in emerging areas such as AI-led network security. “There’s a lot of work going on… we’ll come back at the right time,” he said, not elaborating on potential partnerships.

He also didn’t comment on the financial impact of the reassessment, including figures that are already in the public domain, saying the company will wait for the government’s final position. 

AI Acknowledgment but No Clear Roadmap

The Vodafone Idea CEO acknowledged there is growing interest in the industry around advanced AI systems such as those being developed by Anthropic, and their ability to detect vulnerabilities and potential data security risks. He said Vodafone Idea is working on strengthening network resilience and security frameworks but did not confirm any specific tie-ups. 

However, he cautioned that it is still early days to give deployment timelines or decide if such technologies would need regulatory backing. The DoT has recently extended the deadline for reassessing Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues by three months to June 30, as field units continue to face challenges in completing the exercise, sources said. 

The extensions comes after the Hon’ble Supreme Court allowed the Centre to recalculate the telecom company’s AGR liability for the FY07-FY19 period. Afterwards, the reassessment process was cleared by the Union Cabinet in January and the DoT’s Controller of Communication Accounts was directed to review licence fee and spectrum usage charge payments within a determined timeframe. 

Even the license fees’ reassessment has been done with, the spectrum usage’s recalculation charges are currently ongoing. Operational hurdles like gaps in documentation were mentioned by the officials. 

Vodafone has found it challenging to offer legacy records necessary for validation in several telecom circles. This has made the process slower. Due to these obstacles, it is anticipated that the extended timeline would provide field units extra time to fulfill the exercise and file their findings.

Source: Money Control