Category: telecom

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Vodafone Idea (Vi) is all set to roll out its long-awaited 5G services in India. The telecom operator has finally announced that it will roll out 5G services in the country in the next few months, starting with major metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bangalore, and more. The latest move is set to bring the telecom operator back to competition with its bigger rivals, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. So, if you are wondering when the operator will introduce its 5G services in the country, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will be talking in depth about the Vi 5G services, its rollout date, list of available cities, expected pricing, and more. So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

Vi 5G Rollout in India Details

Vodafone Idea (Vi), in its quarterly report for the third quarter of the financial year 2024-25, revealed that it is planning to roll out its 5G services in the country. The company has confirmed that it will begin the rollout of its 5G services in April 2025, though the exact date of the rollout is not known at the time of writing. “We are driving investments, and the velocity of capex deployment is set to accelerate in the coming quarters. Concurrently, the phased rollout of 5G services is underway, targeting key geographies,” said company CEO Akshaya Moondra in a statement.

Interestingly, in December 2024, the telecom operator rolled out its 5G services in 17 circles across India, though it was not part of the commercial rollout. The company clarified that it had rolled out the 5G connectivity as per the Minimum Rollout Obligation set by the Government. Finally, the brand has confirmed that it will begin the 5G rollout in the next few months. 

Vi 5G: List of Available Cities

Vi has revealed that it will be rolling out its 5G services in select cities across the country, with more to follow in the near future. As per the brand, the Vi 5G connectivity will be first available in Delhi, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, and Patna. The operator has not revealed any other cities in this phase. 

Vi 5G Speed

Although the exact 5G speed is yet to be out after commercial rollout, the brand has run several 5G trials in different locations, giving us some insight into the potential 5G speeds on the Vi network. To start with, in May 2022, the company achieved a top download speed of 5.92Gbps during the 5G trials in Pune, while it got 1.2Gbps of speed at MG Road Metro Station in Bengaluru. Similarly, the brand was able to achieve around 1Gbps of download speed in different trials that took place in multiple cities across the country. 

Vi 5G Spectrum

Vodafone Idea (VI) acquired 50 MHz spectrum in a 3,300 MHz band across 17 circles each for Rs 15,137.75 crore through auctions that were held in 2022. That said, it is reported that the telecom operator might use a mix of 3.5GHz (C-band) and 1,800MHz spectrum for its initial 5G rollouts. That said, we might get more information closer to the launch timelines. 

Vi 5G: Expected Prices of Plans

The brand has also revealed that it plans to introduce cheaper 5G plans than Jio and Airtel. The company has confirmed that the plans may be up to 15 percent cheaper at entry levels compared to other telcos, meaning that we might see another price war between the telecom operators once the Vi 5G network is rolled out. 

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Swedish
telecom
gear
maker
Ericsson
has
received
a
new
multi-billion
dollar
contract
for
selling
5G
equipment
from
India’s
Bharti
Airtel,
two
sources
familiar
with
the
matter
said.

This
comes
after

Ericsson got
part
of
a
$3.6
billion
(roughly
Rs. 30,259
crore)
contract
last
month
for
selling

5G
equipment
to
India’s
Vodafone
Idea.
It
shared
the
contract
with
Nokia
and
Samsung.

The
new
contracts
are
expected
to
boost
Ericsson’s
revenue
next
year
after
seeing
a
big
fall
in
contracts
from
India
in
the
first
half
of
the
year.

Sales
in
Southeast
Asia,
Oceania,
and
India
had
decreased
by
44
percent
in
the
second
quarter.
Ericsson
will
announce
its
third-quarter
results
on
Tuesday.

Much
of
the
deployment
is
likely
to
happen
next
year,
according
to
one
source
familiar
with
the
matter.

Ericsson
declined
to
comment.

Airtel did
not
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.

Shares
in
Ericsson
rose
as
much
as
1.8
percent
after
the
Reuters
story.

Demand
from
the
Indian
5G
market
started
to
skyrocket
in
2023,
when
sales
from
the
region
grew
as
much
as
five
times,
as
Airtel
and

Jio,
the
telecoms
unit
of
Indian
conglomerate
Reliance
Industries,
started
to
scale
up
5G
services.

That
demand
cushioned
a
slowdown
in
revenue
from
Ericsson’s
main
US
market
where
telecom
operators
have
been
lowering
spending.

Global
telecom
equipment
revenue
had
dropped
16
percent
year-over-year
in
the
second
quarter,
recording
a
fourth
consecutive
quarter
of
double-digit
contractions,
according
to
research
firm
Dell’Oro.

©
Thomson
Reuters
2024

(This
story
has
not
been
edited
by
NDTV
staff
and
is
auto-generated
from
a
syndicated
feed.)