Aircel distributors wait for network operator to give a clear picture post bankruptcy filing, users hit by network outages
Mumbai, Mar 1 (IBNS): Distributors and retailers of Aircel sim cards were in a quandary on Thursday, according to media reports, after the company filed for bankruptcy the day before.
According to reports, Aircel is the fourth telecom operator to bow out unable to withstand the stiff competition in the market, especially afterthe Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio debuted in September 2016.
With a customer base of 5.6 crore and a debt burden of Rs 15,500 crore, on Wednesday, India's sixth largest telecom operator Aircel along with its units - Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless - filed for bankruptcy in the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai.
Aircel distributors and retailers, who had invested a tidy sum in the business, are awaiting for more news from the network operator as fear of widespread outages and customer outages loom large, media reports said.
According to ET, the drop in business in Tamil Nadu has dealt a big blow to the telecom company as the state accounted for nearly a fifth of the roughly 80 million customers it had at the end of January.
Aircel distributors had been seeing the network's customers porting out for the last couple of weeks, media reports said.
The Hindu quoted K. Sankara Narayanan, head – SBU (South), Aircel, as saying that customers have been advised to make alternate arrangements to stay connected.
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