Vodafone Idea struggles to finalise 5G deals Vodafone Idea is facing trouble finalising deals for 5G equipment supplies and tower tenancies with vendors asking the cash-strapped telco to clear their 4G-related dues and fork out advance payments for fresh contracts, people familiar with the matter said.Vodafone Idea owes around ₹3,000 crore to Finnish equipment supplier Nokia and up to ₹1,000 crore to Sweden''s Ericsson in 4G-network-related dues. The telecom joint venture between UK''s Vodafone Group Plc. and India''s Aditya Birla Group (ABG) also owes around ₹7,000 crore to tower company Indus Towers and ₹2,000 crore to American Tower Co. (ATC).Queries sent to Vi, ATC, Nokia didn''t elicit any response. Ericsson and Indus Towers declined comment.The loss-making operator''s problems are delaying its 5G launch plans, leaving it vulnerable to further subscriber losses to stronger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, say experts. Vi Yet to Announce Launch Plan for 5G Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have already firmed up their plans to launch initial commercial 5G services by Diwali and spoken of expanding services across India in 18-24 months.