Vodafone Idea’s 5G expansion strengthens its market position, but it still has work to do to close the gap with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.
In sum – what to know:
Rapid coverage expansion – Vodafone Idea plans to grow from 43 to 133 5G cities by May 2026, marking a significant acceleration in deployment.
Demand-led rollout strategy – Expansion targets high-usage markets and areas with strong 5G device penetration rather than nationwide blanket coverage.
AI-driven network optimization – The operator is using AI-based SON tools and vendor partnerships to improve performance and efficiency as the network scales.
Indian operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has outlined plans to further expand its 5G footprint in India, with services set to launch in 90 additional cities by May (2026). Its total 5G city-count presence will grow from 43 cities to 133 nationwide in the process. Via began rolling out 5G services in August last year (2025), initially in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram; it has been extending coverage since.
The firm is also upgrading its transport network with Ciena’s coherent optical technology (WaveLogic 6 Extreme), it has said. See more below.
The new 5G rollout will cover 15 ‘telecom circles’, including major regions such as Mumbai, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and West Bengal. The company is focusing on areas where 5G device adoption is already strong and where mobile data usage is high, including metro areas, industrial hubs, and fast-growing urban centers. Cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gandhinagar, Goa, and Puducherry are expected to be included in this phase.
The expansion is being carried out across regions. In northern India, Vi is extending coverage in states including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Eastern markets such as West Bengal and Sikkim are also part of the rollout, alongside continued expansion in western and southern regions, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Telangana. To support the rollout, Vodafone Idea is deploying AI-driven self-optimising networks (SON) to enhance network performance and efficiency. The company is also working with vendors such as Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung to scale its 5G infrastructure.
Vi said its rollout strategy remains phased and targeted, taking into account factors such as device availability, user demand, and network readiness. This approach allows the operator to prioritize investment in areas where 5G can deliver immediate value, rather than pursuing uniform nationwide coverage.
Vodafone Idea, in which the Indian government holds a 48.99% stake following a 2025 intervention, is working to stabilize its finances while expanding 5G coverage across India. The carrier had outlined plans to invest INR450 billion ($4.9 billion) over the next three years to upgrade its network, aiming to reach 5G parity in key markets and improve overall performance.
Pradeepthi Kantipudi, telecom analyst at GlobalData, told RCR Wireless News: “This 5G rollout by Vodafone Idea is a strategic step towards strengthening its presence in the competitive 5G market, but it still has a lot of ground to cover before closing the gap with market leaders – Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The expansion focuses on areas with strong 5G device penetration rates and high data consumption levels, including metros and industrial hubs and even tier-2 and tier-3 towns.”
“While, the scale of Vodafone’s 5G expansion is certainly encouraging, it is currently still limited compared to Reliance Jio’s 5G network, which already covers most cities and rural areas in the country or Airtel’s 5G network, which also covers most of the major cities and has extensive tier-2 reach,” Kantipudi added.
The analyst also said that Vodafone Idea’s demand-led rollout strategy is well suited to its current position, as it allows the company to focus investments on markets where data demand, 5G device penetration, and revenue potential are higher. “This targeted approach also aligns with its broader focus on improving customer value, supporting ARPU growth, and strengthening retention efforts in key segments. By prioritising high-impact markets, the company can improve network utilization and deliver a more consistent customer experience where it matters most, while maintaining financial discipline,” he added.
Vodafone Idea and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) have entered early-stage discussions on sharing telecom infrastructure and spectrum, according to recent press reports. India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) confirmed that talks were underway, covering potential collaboration on towers, fiber networks and spectrum assets.
Rémy Pascal, practice leader of mobile infrastructure at Omdia, recently told RCR Wireless News that Vodafone Idea and BSNL face competitive pressure from larger rivals such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. He noted that combining their assets could help expand coverage, improve service quality, and ease both capital and operational cost burdens, ultimately strengthening their competitive position.
Pascal added that, from a consumer perspective, such collaboration would likely enhance network experience without directly impacting pricing. However, he said the implications for network equipment vendors remain unclear until the scope of any agreement is defined.
In related news, Vodafone Idea is modernizing its transport network with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optical technology running on the 6500 platform. In a release, Ciena said that the network upgrade strengthens the Indian carrier’s ability to support growing bandwidth demands in India and pursue new business opportunities with hyperscalers, neoscalers, and enterprise customers.
Vi recently achieved a significant milestone using WL6e, attaining 1.6Tb/s on its meshed data center interconnect network in India.
