Vodafone Idea to launch 5G services by March 2025

Vodafone Idea is planning to launch its 5G services by March 2025, starting with Delhi and Mumbai. The company said that the services will be rolled out in 17 regions, focusing on metro cities and major urban areas first.

Vi is targeting an expansion of its 4G coverage to reach 90 percent of India’s population by June 2024. At present, its 4G network encompasses about 77 per cent of the population, serving approximately 1.03 billion people. The company seeks to bolster its network to more effectively compete with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

As part of its turnaround strategy, Vi secured Rs 24,000 crore through equity funding, which includes Rs 18,000 crore from a follow-on public offering. The majority of these funds will be allocated to enhancing its 4G network and facilitating the rollout of 5G.

Jagbir Singh, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, is confident that once the network upgrades are done, Vi will stop losing subscribers within a few months.

The telecom operator is prioritizing the expansion of its 4G network to enhance service quality and meet increasing demand. The company is utilizing all available spectrum, including bands such as 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz.

Vi is especially concentrating on the 900 MHz band, which provides improved coverage, particularly in urban settings and indoors. They plan to substantially boost the number of cell towers utilizing this spectrum from 55,000 to 150,000. Currently, 50,000 of these new sites are operational, and the company aims to finish the remaining 50,000 in the next nine months.

Vi has teamed up with leading tower providers such as Indus Towers, ATC, and Tower Vision, and the project is proceeding without delays. Vi plans to begin utilizing the additional towers starting in November, facilitating a smoother rollout.

To modernize its network, Vi is looking into a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) and has collaborated with Samsung in the Karnataka, Bihar, and Punjab regions. However, their trials with OpenRAN have not yielded positive results. Despite collaborating with US-based Mavenir and deploying OpenRAN at 25 sites in Jalandhar, the outcomes have been underwhelming, facing higher costs and technical challenges.