Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced that it has completed the minimum rollout obligation (MRO) for all 5G circles. All telecom companies must meet the Department of Telecom’s (DoT) minimum 5G rollout obligations by a specific deadline, or they risk losing their allocated spectrum.
“Vodafone Idea has completed its Minimum Rollout Obligation (MRO) across all Vi 5G circles on both spectrum bands,” the company said in a statement.
Vi is late in 5G rollout
Vi lags behind in the 5G rollout commercially as it suffered cash crunch while its competitors Reliance Jio and bharti Airtel have already rolled out 5G. The joint venture – formed by Aditya Birla Group and UK’s Vodafone Group Plc – raised investment by participating in an Rs 18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO), contributing Rs 2,075 crore themselves.
The third-largest telecom player in India said that these funds will be directed towards network expansion and the crucial rollout of 5G services. The company sees the delay in adoption of 5G as an opportunity to deploy the technology in a cost-efficient manner.
Vi is losing customers
Vi has also been losing customers as it is unable to offer 5G to users. Meanwhile, the 4G subscriber base of the telecom giant increased to 12.63 crore from 12.26 crore on YoY basis. The average data consumed by 4G subscribers grew by 2.3% to 15.44 GB.
“We have shut down 3G completely in 6 circles with Kerala getting added to the list of 5 other circles; namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Kolkata where 3G spectrum is completely refarmed to 4G,” the company said.
“Our 4G network covers over 1 billion Indians. We have completed minimum rollout obligations for 5G in 4 circles of Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab,” the statement added. A report said that Vi has focussed investment towards 17 priority circles as they account for around 98% of its total revenues.
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