Telcos' credit profile to be under strain, 5G pricing expensive: Ind-Ra

Rating firm- India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) cautioned that credit profiles of telcos will continue to strain because of severe competition and increased debt levels, despite revenues of mobile services showing signs of stability. despite stabilisation of mobile services revenues in 4QFY19, the credit profiles of telecom players (telcos) will remain under pressure in the medium term due to the high competitive intensity, elevated debt levels and continued relianceNSE -0.50 % on capital infusion (promoter equity infusion, asset monetisation) for debt servicing and capex,” said the rating agency in its report on Tuesday.  Another note of caution is that the revenue recovery of the operators –Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio - may happen at a slower pace as the percentage of customers who fall into higher price plans and thereby bring in more revenues for the operators, are still in low numbers.