Vi to launch 5G in Mumbai today, to expand by April-end: CTO Jagbir Singh

Keeping focus on 4G, telco has added 100K tech sites until Feb

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is set to commercially launch 5G services in Mumbai on Wednesday, with rollout in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Patna, and Mysuru planned for the end of April, Vi’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Jagbir Singh told Business Standard.

 

The Punjab and Bihar circles have been included in the initial rollout due to the presence of legacy Chinese equipment, which is being replaced with virtual radio access network (RAN) gear from new partner Samsung, he said.

 

“The 5G equipment in Mumbai will be from Nokia, in Delhi from Ericsson, and in Bengaluru, we will have Samsung equipment. Karnataka, Bihar, and Punjab had Huawei equipment. We are replacing that. We now have vendor diversity,” he said.

 

The company has already replaced the core equipment from China, but the installed radio gear will be replaced as and when it reaches the end of its life.

 

Virtual RAN will allow the control part of a baseband unit, which includes the central processing unit and servers, to be installed at a single location and service clusters of 100-150 towers, rather than being installed at every tower as before, the CTO said.

 

However, unlike the two telecommunications companies (telcos) already offering 5G in India, Vi will not go for a nationwide 5G rollout just yet. Instead, the company plans to prioritise major urban centres and circles where it has strong business, ultimately aiming for 75,000 5G sites over the next three years, Singh said. The telco will adopt a “scientific, calibrated” approach, gauging customer demand and handset penetration before expanding 5G further, he added.

 

“For the 5G rollout, next we are targeting Chennai, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Kerala, which are strong markets for us. We will also assess our market position, device penetration, traffic, and the growth of applications such as gaming and high-speed streaming that require 5G. Among metro cities, Kolkata has the lowest 5G device penetration,” he said.

 

Vi has launched an introductory offer, providing unlimited 5G data for ₹299, and the telco has said that millions of consumers are already using plans priced at similar or higher levels. 5G monetisation in India and globally remains a complex challenge due to considerable infrastructure costs, price-sensitive consumers, and a current lack of compelling use cases. However, sectors such as telemedicine, Internet of Things-enabled smart city initiatives, and augmented/virtual reality applications in gaming and education present sizeable growth opportunities, Vi believes.

 

“The rollout of Vi 5G, with its enhanced network quality and differentiated services, will pave the way for monetisation,” Singh said.

 

Strong signals for 4G

 

For Vi, upgrading the 4G network remains a key priority. The company has allocated a 50:50 split between 4G and 5G in its planned ₹50,000-55,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) over the next three years. Currently, 30-35 per cent of Vi users in major cities have a 5G-enabled phone. “Since the 5G rollout is concurrent with 4G capacity addition at many locations, there are capex synergies,” Singh said.

 

“We are expanding 4G coverage further. Vi has added over 100,000 technology sites in the past 11 months until February 2025, including 55,000 sites on the L900 band and 11,700 new tower installations,” he said. The telco’s 4G population coverage stands at about 1.1 billion.

 

On Vi’s plans to enter satellite communications, Singh said the telco is in discussions with partners and will share an update at an appropriate time.

 

It is also leveraging artificial intelligence for multiple use cases across network and information technology operations to automate processes and reduce costs.