Vodafone Idea

Vodafone Idea (or Vi, stylised as V!) is an Indian mobile network operator with its headquarters based in Mumbai and Gandhinagar.[11][12] It is an all-India integrated GSM operator offering 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi service.[13] As of 31 December 2022, Vi has a subscriber base of 228.60 million,[14] making it third largest mobile telecommunications network in India and 10th largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.[15] The company was created on 31 August 2018 by the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, to form a new entity named Vodafone Idea Limited.

This article is about the current Indian mobile telecommunications company supported by Vodafone. For the predecessor company, see Vodafone India.

Vodafone Idea Limited
TypePublic
ISININE669E01016
IndustryTelecommunications
Predecessors
Founded31 August 2018 (2018-08-31)
HeadquartersMumbai (Corp.)[2][3]
Gandhinagar (Reg.)
Key people
[4]
Products
RevenueIncrease ₹38,644.90 crore (US$4.8 billion)[5] (2022)
Increase ₹16,036.1 crore (US$2.0 billion)[5] (2022)
Increase ₹−28,245.40 crore (US$−3.5 billion)[5] (2022)
Total assetsDecrease ₹194,029 crore (US$24 billion)[6] (2022)
Total equityDecrease ₹−94,088 crore (US$−12 billion)[6] (2022)
Owners
[7][8]
Number of employees
8760 (2022)[9]
SubsidiariesYOU Broadband Limited[10]
Websitevodafoneidea.com

On 7 September 2020, Vodafone Idea unveiled its new brand identity, 'Vi' which involves the integration of the company's erstwhile separate brands 'Vodafone' and 'Idea' into one unified brand.[16][17][18]

History

In March 2017, it was announced that Idea Cellular and Vodafone India would merge. The merger got approval from the Department of Telecommunications in July 2018. On 30 August 2018, National Company Law Tribunal gave the final nod to the Vodafone-Idea merger[19] It was completed on 31 August 2018, and the new entity was named Vodafone Idea Limited,[20][21][15] creating the largest telecom company in India by subscribers and revenue. Under the terms of the deal, the Vodafone Group held a 45.2% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group held 26% and the remaining shares were to be held by the public.[15] Vi lost a significant number of gross and active subscribers in the month of August 2020 after the merger.[22]

Until 7 September 2020, Vodafone Idea Limited operated two separate brands:[23] Vodafone and Idea who both operated pre-paid and post-paid GSM service.[24][25]

On 3 February 2023, the Government of India ordered the company to convert its interest dues worth 161.33 billion rupees ($1.96 billion) to equity at the rate of 10 rupees per share, thus making the government the single biggest shareholder in the company.[26]

Network

Spectrum frequency holding summary

Vi owns spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3500 MHz and 26 GHz bands across the country.[27]

Telecom circle coverage E-GSM/ FD-LTE
900MHz
Band 8		 GSM / FD-LTE
1800MHz
Band 3		 UMTS / FD-LTE
2100MHz
Band 1		 TD-LTE
2300MHz
Band 40		 TD-LTE
2500MHz
Band 41		 TD-NR
3500MHz
Band n78		 TD-NR
26GHz
Band n258
DelhiYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
MumbaiYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
KolkataYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Andhra Pradesh & TelanganaYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
GujaratYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
KarnatakaYesYesYesNoNoYesYes
Maharashtra & GoaYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Tamil NaduYesYesYesNoNoYesYes
HaryanaYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
KeralaYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Madhya Pradesh & ChhattisgarhYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
PunjabYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
RajasthanYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Uttar Pradesh (East)YesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Uttar Pradesh (West)YesYesYesNoYesYesYes
West BengalYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
AssamNoYesYesNoYesNoNo
Bihar & JharkhandNoYesYesNoYesYesNo
Himachal PradeshNoYesYesNoYesNoNo
Jammu and Kashmir & LadakhNoYesYesNoYesNoNo
North EastNoYesYesNoYesNoNo
OdishaYesYesYesNoYesNoNo

This table contains Vi (Vodafone & Idea) radio frequency details because they had integrated their networks with each other and using one anchor network for both brands in all respective telecom circles. For example, Idea has started 4G services in Delhi and Kolkata telecom circle from May 2018 where the Vodafone is anchor network vice versa Vodafone has Started 4G services in Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Bihar & Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir telecom Circle's where Idea is Anchor network.[28][29]

Network consolidation

By March 2019, Vi announced its network consolidation across major circles, easing network issues faced by consumers and also enhancing its 4G coverage. Announcements of Network Consolidation were made as below

Enhanced Unified (2G, 3G, and 4G) coverage details

State No of Towns Covered No of Villages Covered Coverage area %/km
Haryana[30] 145 6520 99.5%
ROWB[31] 878 37585 97%
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh[32] 664 53130 60%
Jammu and Kashmir[33] 110 3301
AP & Telangana[34] 391 19700 92.5%
Bihar & Jharkhand[35] 431 43503 79%
HP[36] 59 11929
NESA & Assam[37] 439 17850 41%

Enhanced LTE (4G) coverage details

State No of Towns Covered No of districts Covered No of Villages Covered Population %
Haryana[30] 137 22 76.08%
ROWB[31] 838 27 78%
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh[32] 633 77 52%
Jammu and Kashmir[33] 48 9 526 23.6%
AP & Telangana[34] 381 23 8500 67%
Bihar & Jharkhand[35] 343 56 19931 45.3%
HP[36] 45 8 6082 43%
NESA & Assam[37] 340 83 4200 70%
Punjab[38] 227 24 10162 90%

Rajasthan network consolidation

Vi announced the successful consolidation of its radio network integration in Rajasthan service area. With this, Rajasthan is amongst the first eleven circles to complete integration in the world's largest network integration exercise which is currently underway in India.

According to the telecom regulator's data, the pan India wireless subscriber base of Vodafone Idea at the end of March 2019 stood at 394.8 million. The statement on network consolidation in Punjab, said 4G services have been enhanced for both Vodafone and Idea customers in cities including Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Moga, and Hoshiarpur. And in Rajasthan Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur among others.[39]

Massive MIMO

Vi deployed technologies such as massive MIMO, small cells, TDD sites to enhance coverage and network capacity in Mumbai and Delhi during March. As part of the modernisation exercise, the company deployed more than 5000 massive MIMO, small cells and TDD sites across Churchgate, Prabhadevi, Pali Hill, Lokhandwala, Versova, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Bandra and Dadar among other regions in Mumbai.[40] The company also deployed more than 4,000 Massive Mimo, small cells and TDD sites across the New Delhi and NCR region.[41]

Giga-Net

Vi has launched "Giganet" 4G services in select cities of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Rest of Bengal (including Kolkata) circles. The launch of Giganet 4G follows the consolidation of its radio network integration and the deployment of technologies such as Dynamic Spectrum Re-farming (DSR), Spectrum Re-farming, M-MIMO, L900, TDD, and Small Cells to further boost network capacity and coverage across large parts of the country.[42]

Wifi Hotspot

Vi Provides wifi hotspot services in major cities Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore with over 200 locations. It is available for all Vi brand customers[43]

Subsidiaries

YOU Broadband

YOU Broadband (wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Idea)[44] offers fixed line broadband (FTTH) and voice services (VoIP) in major cities of India which includes Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kakinada, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Navsari, Powai, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Thane, Vadodara, Valsad, Vapi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.[45]

See also

References
  1. "Vodafone India and Idea Cellular successfully merged". Telecom Talk. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. investor-relations, Vodafone Idea Limited
  3. investor support, Vodafone Idea Limited
  4. Livemint (3 August 2022). "Vodafone Idea names Ravinder Takkar as Chairman, Himanshu Kapania to step down". mint. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  5. "Vodafone Idea Limited Consolidated Profit & Loss account, Vodafone Idea Limited Financial Statement & Accounts". www.moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. "Vodafone Idea Limited Consolidated Balance Sheet, Vodafone Idea Limited Financial Statement & Accounts". www.moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. page 17, Page17. "REPORTS" (PDF). VI.
  8. "Centre Agrees to Convert Vi Interest on Dues into Equity". 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  9. "20% employees of Vodafone Idea's sales team quits: Report". vodafoneidea.com. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  10. "About us". You Broadband Limited. 29 June 2019.
  11. "India's Idea Cellular Will Use Nokia's Cloud Core". SDxCentral. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  12. "Vodafone Mini Stores in Mumbai Will Now Facilitate Tata Power Bill Payments via M-Pesa e-wallet - MySmartPrice News". MySmartPrice. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  13. "Vi WiFi Calling | Get Clear Voice Calls with Vi WiFi Calling". www.myvi.in.
  14. "Q2-Report-FY 2020-21 By Vodafone Idea Limited" (PDF). 6 August 2020.
  15. "Disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015" (PDF). BSE. BSE. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. "Vodafone Idea re-brands itself 'Vi'". The Indian Express. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  17. Vodafone Idea Limited, Vi. "Vodafone and Idea brands are now "Vi"" (PDF).
  18. "Vodafone Idea rebrands itself, to go by brand name Vi". Zee News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  19. Parbat, Kalyan; Sengupta, Devina (31 August 2018). "NCLT gives go-ahead to Idea-Vodafone merger". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  20. "Idea approves merger with Vodafone India, to create India's largest telco". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  21. Kurup, Rajesh (20 March 2017). "Idea Cellular board approves merger with Vodafone India; shares tank 9%". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  22. "Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Add Subscribers In August, Vi Lags". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  23. Staff Writer (7 September 2020). "Vodafone and Idea are now 'Vi'". Livemint. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  24. "Vodafone idea postpaid services consolidated". The Economics time Telecom. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  25. "Vodafone idea will drop idea brand from postpaid service's". The Economics time. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  26. "India asks Vodafone Idea to convert nearly $2 bln in govt dues into equity". Reuters. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  27. Pan India Telecom Spectrum holding chart 2022 (updated), Only Tech, retrieved 7 October 2022
  28. Idea Cellular 4G Services Now Live in Delhi With Vodafone Network, Telecom Talk, retrieved 15 July 2018
  29. Idea to launch VoLTE in March, inks 4G ICR agreement with Vodafone, ET Telecom, retrieved 15 July 2018
  30. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Haryana - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  31. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in rest of West Bengal - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  32. "Vodafone Idea Successfully Completes Radio Network Consolidation In Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh". Communications Today. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  33. "Vodafone Idea completes network integration in J&K". The Economic Times. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  34. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in AP & Telangana". @businessline. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  35. Dua, Priyanka (24 February 2019). "Vodafone Idea radio network integration in Bihar, Jharkhand". Gizbot. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  36. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Punjab - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  37. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in NESA & Assam - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  38. "Radio Network Consolidation In Punjab" (PDF). Vodafoneidea.com. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  39. "Vodafone Idea completes network consolidation in Punjab". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  40. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea deploys 5,000 Massive MIMO, small cells, TDD sites in Mumbai - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  41. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea deploys 5G-ready sites in Delhi NCR - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  42. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone-Idea ups 4G speeds via network up-gradation in many cities - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  43. www.myvi.in. "Vodafone-Idea wifi hotspot services". myvi.in. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  44. Parbat, Kalyan (12 September 2019). "Vodafone Idea looks to bundle broadband with top 4G plans". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  45. www.youbroadband.in. "Vodafone-Idea Wholly owned subsidiary You Broadband". youbroadband.in. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
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