Vodafone Idea had confirmed “advanced talks” with a number of vendors in order to define its final strategy for the deployment of 5G in India
Indian operator Vodafone Idea is already offering 5G services in select locations in Pune and Delhi, Indian press reported.
The reports noted that the information was provided by the company in its website. However, the telco has not yet make any official announcement regarding the launch of 5G services. As of now, Vodafone Idea has not officially disclosed its 5G rollout plan.
On its website, Vodafone Idea stated that Vodafone users “can experience seamless connectivity with VI 5G Ready SIM” in selected areas of Pune and Delhi.
“Over the past year the Vodafone Idea team has worked diligently to prepare the core network for 5G deployments. Vodafone Idea has successfully developed a range of advanced use cases poised to make a tangible difference across crucial sectors. In the coming quarters, Vodafone Idea will initiate significant investments in order to roll out 5G networks and expand 4G coverage across the country,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group and one of the controllers of Vodafone Idea, during the inauguration ceremony of the recent India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2023.
In August, Vodafone Idea successfully tested 5G services using both the 26 GHz and 3.3 GHz bands in Pune, in a bid to meet the minimum rollout obligations stipulated by India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Vodafone Idea’s CEO Akshaya Moondra recently said during the company’s latest earnings call that the carrier will miss the minimum rollout obligations in 15 out of the 17 telecom circles where it acquired spectrum in the July 2022 5G spectrum auction.
The DoT had laid down the roll out obligations for both the 26 GHz band and the mid-bands, which said that by the end of the first year, a company has to commercially launch service anywhere in each of the three metros – Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai- and at least in one city in each of the 22 telecom circles.
In June, Vodafone Idea had confirmed “advanced talks” with a number of vendors in order to define its final strategy for the deployment of 5G in India.
In the carrier’s annual report, the telco also said it has concluded device testing of all major OEMs on its upcoming 5G mobile broadband network.
Vodafone Idea has partnered with various OEMs to test the compatibility of available 5G handsets in 5G clusters in the cities of Delhi and Pune. “The company is working towards rolling out 5G for consumers. The deployment will be accelerated subsequent to the consummation of fund raising,” Vodafone Idea previously said.
Vodafone had also said it was negotiating loans with local banks in order to secure the necessary funds to launch 5G.
In its annual report, the telco also highlighted that it has been driving incremental 4G investments in the 17 priority service areas, which accounts for 98% of the company’s revenues.
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm are currently providing 5G connectivity in thousands of towns and cities across India, while the government previously confirmed that state-run telco BSNL will be in a position to launch 5G in 2024.
