NEW DELHI: Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) on Friday announced that it plans to invest nearly Rs 50,000-Rs 55,000 crore over the next three years to expand its 4G network across 17 priority circles.
The telco, in an investor presentation, also revealed plans to deploy its 4G network on the sub-GHz 900 MHz band across 16 circles, aiming to improve coverage and enhance the user experience. This capital expenditure (capex) will also support the rollout and expansion of VIL’s 5G network in key urban areas and regions.
For the first half of FY25 (H1FY25), VIL’s capex stood at over Rs 2,000 crore, resulting in a 14% increase in 4G data capacity and expanding its 4G population coverage by 22 million. The company expects its capex in the second half of FY25 (H2FY25) to be nearly Rs 8,000 crore.
Currently, Vodafone Group holds a 22.56% stake in VIL, while the Aditya Birla Group owns 14.76% and the Indian government is the largest shareholder with a 23.15% stake. VIL remains the only private telecom service provider in India that has yet to launch its commercial 5G network. In contrast, its competitors, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, have already rolled out 5G services.
This delay in 5G rollout has led to customer churn. The company has, however, announced plans to launch its commercial 5G services in March 2025, beginning with Delhi and Mumbai.
VIL has reduced its losses to Rs 7,176 crore in Q2FY25 as against Rs 8,738 crore in the same quarter last year. During the quarter, its mobile average revenue per user (ARPU), excluding machine-to-machine connections, grew by 7.8% QoQ, rising from Rs 154 in the April-June period to Rs 166.
Plans to deploy 4G network across 16 circles
The telco, in an investor presentation, also revealed plans to deploy its 4G network on the sub-GHz 900 MHz band across 16 circles, aiming to improve coverage and enhance the user experience. This capital expenditure (capex) will also support the rollout and expansion of VIL’s 5G network in key urban areas and regions.