Vodafone Idea noted that the expansion is part of the telco’s broader 5G rollout strategy targeting key cities in its 17 priority telecom circles
In sum – what to know:
Mysuru joins Vi’s 5G map – Vodafone Idea has launched 5G in Mysuru, its second city in Karnataka state after Bengaluru, as part of a wider rollout across 17 priority telecom circles in India.
4G backbone boosted – The telco has upgraded its 4G network in Karnataka with new spectrum deployments, increasing capacity by 41% and improving service performance.
Expansion accelerates – Vi plans to bring 5G to 23 more cities, aiming to strengthen its network footprint and compete more effectively with rivals in the Indian 5G market.
Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has extended its 5G footprint to Mysuru, marking the second city in Karnataka state to receive the technology after Bengaluru.
In a release, Vodafone Idea noted that the expansion is part of the telco’s broader 5G rollout strategy targeting key cities in its 17 priority telecom circles.
The telco had launched 5G in Bengaluru just last month and already offers service in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh and Patna.
The launches in Mysuru and Bengaluru follow a major upgrade of Vi’s 4G network in Karnataka state. Over the past 14 months, the company deployed additional spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands across thousands of sites in the state.
According to the Indian carrier, these enhancements led to a 41% increase in network capacity across Karnataka, resulting in improved coverage and faster data speeds.
“With our next-gen 5G alongside our robust 4G services, we aim to provide more options and an enhanced experience to our users,” said Anand Dani, Vi’s business head for Karnataka.
Earlier this month, Vodafone Idea had said it will deploy 5G in 23 additional cities across India. It said it will deploy the technology in a phased manner in the following cities: Ahmedabad, Agra, Aurangabad, Kozhikode, Cochin, Dehradun, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Malappuram, Meerut, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Rajkot, Sonepat, Surat, Siliguri, Trivandrum, Vadodara and Vizag.
Vodafone Idea previously told investors that launching 5G services later than its competitors has helped the company use newer technology and save costs. The carrier noted this delay allowed it to strategically adopt advanced Disaggregated Radio Access Network (RAN) systems, which improve operational efficiency, offer new capabilities and significantly reduce network deployment and maintenance expenses.
Vodafone Idea is also in process of expanding its 4G footprint across the country. Since April 2024, the company has deployed 4G on the 900 MHz band at 65,000 sites and added over 56,000 sites on the 1800 MHz, 2.1 GHz and TDD bands. These upgrades have increased 4G data capacity by 35% and boosted 4G speeds by 26%.
Vodafone Idea’s 4G network now covers 84% of the population, up from 77% in March 2024. The company, a joint venture between the U.K.’s Vodafone Group and India’s Aditya Birla Group, said it would continue focusing on the 17 licensed areas or telecom circles for both 4G and 5G coverage.
