Vodafone-Idea merger create India's largest telco over 408 million users

Idea Cellular (being renamed as ‘Vodafone Idea Limited’), an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership becomes operational as India’s leading telecom service provider with a subscriber base of over 408 million.

The merger brings together Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, two of India’s leading operators who played a key role in making mobile the most popular mode of communication and drove the telecom revolution across the country. The combined company is designed to be agile, digitally savvy and future fit. It is a professionally run world class organization, combining the best from both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. The company is committed to create a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect, join the digital revolution and build a better tomorrow. It will accelerate India’s progression towards a digital economy with a portfolio of quality products and services on offer under both its popular and loved brands - Vodafone and Idea.

The new Board of Directors comprises of 12 Directors (including 6 Independent Directors) constituted, with Kumar Mangalam Birla as the Chairman. The Board has appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO.

The merger has thus created the largest voice network with over 200,000 unique GSM sites to cover over 1.2 billion Indians.

On the occasion of the merger, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited, said, “Today, we have created India’s leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment. And this is much more than just about creating a large business. It is about our Vision of empowering and enabling a New India and meeting the aspirations of the youth of our country. The “Digital India”, as our Honourable Prime Minister describes it, is a monumental nation building opportunity. As Vodafone Idea, we are partnering in this initiative by building a formidable company of international repute, scale and standards.”

Vodafone Idea will accelerate India’s progression towards a digital economy, enabling millions of citizens to connect to the digital revolution and build a better tomorrow. The company will continue to offer a wide variety of digital services and solutions under both of its popular and loved brands (Vodafone and Idea). Services - including Voice, Data, Mobile payments, IoT, advanced enterprise offerings and entertainment – will all be conveniently accessible via digital channels and extensive on-ground presence of 15,000 branded stores and 1.7 million retail touchpoints across the country.

Welcoming customers to India’s leading telecom network, Balesh Sharma, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said, “As India’s leading telecom operator with two popular and loved brands, the company has the scale and resources to ensure sustainable customer choice and introduce new technologies. We are committed to offer both our retail and enterprise customers an excellent experience while fulfilling their evolving digital and connectivity needs via new products, services and solutions. We will offer them more network coverage, more value and more excitement. My team and I look forward to your continuing support and invite you to enjoy the Vodafone Idea experience.”