RCom, Ericsson agree on settlement; green signal for Reliance Jio deal

The NCLAT asked the Anil Ambani-controlled firm to pay Ericsson Rs 5.5 billion by the end of September

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed the May 15 order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai, which had admitted Reliance Communications (RCom) and two of its subsidiaries for insolvency proceedings.

The NCLAT asked the Anil Ambani-controlled firm to pay Ericsson Rs 5.5 billion by the end of September.

With the stay on bankruptcy proceedings, RCom can now continue with its asset monetisation scheme involving the sale of towers, optic fibre cable network, spectrum and media convergence nodes to brother Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance JioInfocomm (Jio) for Rs 170 billion.

On Tuesday, NCLAT chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya asked the parties to settle the matter stating that the fate of operational creditors under the corporate resolution process was not ideal, especially if Ericsson wished to recover the majority of its dues.

NCLAT also asked RCom and Ericsson to file an affidavit by June 7 stating that the two companies will abide by the settlement.

Ericsson India, a subsidiary of the Swedish telecom equipment maker and service provider, had filed a case at NCLT, Mumbai last September seeking the liquidation of Reliance Communications (RCom), and its subsidiaries Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom, in order to recover Rs 11.5 billion.

The three companies were subsequently admitted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), and NCLT appointed a resolution professional (RP) to take over the management of each company. Ericsson had argued that it had entered into a seven-year agreement in 2014 with RCom and its subsidiaries for maintaining, upgrading and developing the latter's telecommunications infrastructure, which was not honoured.

RCom and its subsidiaries owed Ericsson around Rs 9.78 billion for their services which, Ericsson's counsel told the NCLT, had increased to around Rs 16 billion given that there were delays in the payment, despite several notices being issued to the Anil Ambani controlled companies.

RCom filed its appeal with the NCLAT, and was awarded with a stay on the order admitting the three firms under the IBC.

RCom and its subsidiaries now have the permission to go ahead with the debt restructuring plan that was prepared in December 2017. There were fears of the three Reliance group companies undergoing insolvency proceedings, which would have meant that the asset monetisation scheme under the plan would not be allowed.

Reliance Big TV offer: 500 channels free for 5 yrs, HD ones for 1 year

The effectively free offer on Reliance Big TV DTH is valid starting today, March 1, 2018

Anil Ambani-owned direct-to-home service provider Reliance Big TV is now offering free access to up to 500 channels at a zero effective cost, along with one year of free subscription to premium channels.

To avail of the Reliance Big TV set-top box at effectively zero cost, you need to book the DTH from the company’s official portal by paying a booking amount of Rs 499. Another sum of Rs 1,500 needs to be paid once the DTH is delivered, for installation and other services.

However, the total sum of Rs 2,000 is refundable after successful completion of three years in the form of recharge.

According to terms and conditions of the offer, you need to do a monthly recharge of Rs 300 from second year onwards for two consecutive years. At the end of three years, the company would refund a sum of Rs 2,000 in the form of recharge.

The offer comes bundled with free access to up to 500 free-to-air channels for five years and one year of free subscription to paid channels.

“Today, Reliance Big TV is going to mark the beginning of a new dawn in the way Indians have been accessing entertainment on their TV sets. Starting from today, entertainment comes effectively free of cost, with the latest offer by Reliance Big TV. Now every Indian household can enjoy home entertainment & students can have free of cost access to education content with HD HEVC set Top box,” said Vijender Singh, Director, Reliance Big TV in a statement.