Vodafone Idea (Vi) has mostly stayed mum when it comes to 5G while its rivals (Jio, Airtel) have been boasting about how they are going to bring indigenous 5G in India very soon. But Vi isn’t going to stay behind Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel when it comes to 5G. Vodafone Idea has already started testing 5G networks. This was confirmed by the Managing Director (MD) of the telco, Ravinder Takkar, during the analyst call of the company. Vi is conducting its 5G trials in multiple cities and states of the country with the help of two foreign telecom equipment vendors.
Vodafone Idea Conducting 5G Trials With the Help of Foreign Telecom Vendors
Two of the biggest European telecom vendors in the market, including Nokia and Ericsson, are helping Vodafone Idea with conducting its 5G trials. As per Takkar, the trials are currently taking place in two different cities/states. The third-largest telecom operator is testing its 5G networks in Gandhinagar, Gujarat and Pune, Maharashtra. It is worth noting that Vodafone Idea has a ton of spectrum resources, and if it wants to roll out 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks on the back of its excellent capacity 4G networks, it can do so. But the telco’s financials might hold it off for a while. Nonetheless, Vi testing 5G only means one thing - the company is thinking about its long-term future in the market, which is a positive note for all the fans and the investors of the company. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had allocated Vodafone Idea and the other operators in the country spectrum for testing their 5G solutions and networks. Both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have already started their 5G trials. Jio is testing its 5G networks in Mumbai, while Airtel is testing 5G in Gurgaon. Takkar’s confirmation of 5G trials might mean that Vi would be pushing for 5G with the other telecom operators. The telco has plenty of time since 5G isn’t expected to be adopted very aggressively in India because the operators’ revenues and benefits in the next 3 to 4 years lie on enhancing their 4G networks only.
