Vodafone Idea (Vi) 4G and 5G Expansion Picks Up Pace Across Priority Circles

Also Read: Vi Expands 5G to 80+ Cities, ARPU Climbs to Rs 190 in Q4FY26

Operator stated that Vi 5G services are now live in over 80 cities across these circles. Expansion marks one of Vi’s biggest operational developments in recent years as company continues strengthening network presence amid intense competition in India’s telecom market.

While larger rivals moved aggressively with nationwide 5G rollout earlier, Vi’s strategy appears more focused around selective expansion in priority markets. Latest numbers indicate company is now pushing network investments deeper into commercially important circles while simultaneously improving 4G infrastructure.

Company also linked recent operational progress to sustained capex spending and infrastructure rollout. Vi spent Rs 8,742 crore in FY26 towards capex expansion, according to financial highlights shared during results announcement.

4G Expansion Continues Alongside 5G Push

Even as 5G rollout gathers pace, Vodafone idea continues placing major focus on strengthening its 4G network footprint across India. Company said 4G population coverage expanded to 86.3% as of March 2026 after bringing an additional 48.2 million people under coverage fold during FY26.

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This remains important because 4G continues to serve majority of India’s mobile data users despite ongoing 5G rollout. Improving 4G reach and capacity therefore remains critical for operators trying to improve everyday network experience for subscribers across urban and semi urban markets.

Vodafone Idea stated that 4G data capacity increased by over 12% compared to FY25 and its network expansion efforts are focused not only on wider reach but also on strengthening indoor coverage and adding more sites to improve overall capacity handling for end users, these investments could translate into stronger data connectivity and improved network consistency across several locations where congestion and indoor signal performance have remained concerns in past years.

Thousands of Vodafone Idea Towers Added During FY26

Another major part of Vi’s network expansion strategy during FY26 was aggressive tower addition. Company said it added 17.3K broadband towers and 19.7K mobile towers during year, taking total unique broadband tower count to over 202,000.

Tower expansion remains one of most important elements in telecom infrastructure growth because it directly impacts coverage density, data capacity and network quality. Increasing tower footprint allows operators to manage rising data consumption more efficiently while also supporting wider 4G and 5G coverage.

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Vi’s latest numbers suggest company is now significantly increasing infrastructure deployment after a prolonged period of limited expansion. Results announcement repeatedly highlighted that gains from capex investments and network rollout are now becoming visible across business operations.

Abhijit Kishore, CEO of Vodafone Idea Limited, said in statement that Q4FY26 marked a decisive step forward with sequential improvement across key performance parameters. He also stated that subscriber additions turning positive from February 2026 reflected impact of sustained network investments made by company.

Subscriber Trends Begin Improving

Alongside network expansion, Vodafone Idea also reported stabilisation in customer base during quarter. Company’s subscriber base stood at 192.8 million, while monthly subscriber additions turned positive from February 2026 onwards.

This becomes a notable operational shift because Vodafone Idea had remained under pressure from subscriber losses for multiple quarters amid aggressive competition in telecom sector positive additions indicate company may now be seeing early benefits from broader network expansion and customer upgrades.

Vodafone Idea also reported growth in 4G and 5G subscriber base, which increased to 128.9 million compared to 126.4 million in Q4FY25 at same time, ARPU improved to Rs 190, representing an 8.3% year on year increase and, according to company, highest growth in industry.

Quarterly revenue stood at Rs 11,333 crore while EBITDA came in at Rs 4,889 crore. Vodafone Idea also said quarter delivered highest average daily revenue in last six years.

Focus Remains on Execution

Vi’s Q4 FY26 update presents a company that is increasingly centering its recovery strategy around network expansion, wider 5G availability and stronger customer experience results announcement repeatedly emphasised execution, rollout pace and operational improvement across key metrics.

Alongside network investments, company also highlighted growth in differentiated consumer offerings. Vodafone Idea said its Non Stop Hero proposition has witnessed over 25% sequential growth during last three quarters postpaid segment also continued registering positive net additions across segments for eighth consecutive quarter.

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Company further stated that under Vodafone Idea Protect, its AI powered safety initiative, nearly 2 billion calls and SMSs were categorised as suspected spam during quarter, while more than 250,000 malicious spam links were blocked daily for customers.

With Vodafone Idea 5G now present across more than 80 cities, broader 4G expansion underway and infrastructure rollout accelerating across priority circles, Vi’s FY26 performance signals a stronger operational push centred around improving network reach, capacity and customer engagement across Indian telecom market.