Its launch is three months later than initially planned. Plans have been pushed back in order give the operator more time to execute spectrum rollout in 17 different metros and cities, and to improve its 4G coverage, according to The Economic Times.
“We are going a little slow (with 5G), but we will be doing 5G in Delhi and Mumbai first, and of course, all metros and major cities across 17 states (circles),” chief technology officer Jagbir Singh told ET.
"Today, nearly 1.03bn people are covered with around 77% of 4G coverage. As of now, we want to go from this 77% to at least 90%," Singh added.
Vi, India’s third-largest private telecom operator, has been struggling financially for some time, accruing enormous debts that has seen dues owed to American Tower, Indus Towers and the regulator unpaid. In order to help secure payment a number of measures have been undertaken, including the government converting licence fees to equity, Vi selling part of its stake in Indus Towers and agreeing a payment plan to maintain access to sites owned by the towerco.
In June 2024, Vodafone Group sold 18% of its shares in Indus Towers for €1.7bn (US$2.16bn) so it can repay its debts in relation to the outstanding bank borrowings of €1.8bn secured against Vodafone’s Indian assets. The transaction is unlikely to benefit Vi’s own debt situation.
As part of a revival plan, it has raised some equity funding in order to improve and develop its 4G and 5G networks, in order to recover lost ground in the battle for mobile subscribers against market leaders Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, who already have 5G services launched.
TowerXchange regularly publishes regional guides covering all of the world's telecom tower markets. Download the Asia guide to learn more about the Indian market.
