Videocon is exiting mobile services business, to begin shut down from Feb 15

Along with some other small telecos in India, Videocon Telecom will shut down operations in the Punjab circle from February 15 and this will be an end to its mobile services in the country. The company has also asked its 3 million customers to switch to other operators to ensure continuity of services.

In a notice issued by the company, it said that the prepaid customers should exhaust their balance and subscribers being billed monthly should clear their dues before moving to other carriers.

"Quadrant Televentures would be discontinuing mobile services with effect from midnight of February 15, 2017, in Punjab service area,” the unit of the diversified Videocon group said in the notice.

The move will affect about 100 employees in the mobile service business in the state, who are likely to be absorbed in Videocon's other divisions in the state, according to people familiar with the company's plans. Videocon has about 4,000 employees in all its businesses in Punjab.

The company has incurred losses and was not keen to invest further in the business because it was not sure whether the validity of its spectrum holdings in the circle would be extended till 2027, the people said.

CEO Arvind Bali confirmed to ET that it was exiting the spectrum-oriented businesses.

"We're going in non-spectrum businesses because spectrum is expensive. We have started 14 new businesses including surveillance and security, enterprise and broadband, which needs less investment and provides quicker returns,, he said. The company also has bulk SMS and international and national long-distance calling businesses. It is not looking at the mobile virtual network operator model as an option.

Videocon, which got licences and spectrum in 17 circles nationwide in 2008, lost all the permits in 2012 in the 2G spectrum allotment scam. It subsequently bid and won back airwaves in six circles.