Will India Be a Two Player 5G Market with Jio and Airtel, What about Vodafone Idea?

5G

India is finally shifting to 5G. The spectrum auctions are over; telcos are almost ready with the infrastructure, and in October, 5G network launch is expected. But there’s a big question ahead of the 5G launch – will India be primarily a two-player 5G market with Jio and Airtel? At present, there are four telecom operators in the market – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). There is also MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited), but it is not a PAN-India operator. Jio and Airtel are in a decent position when it comes to the 5G rollout. But Vodafone Idea, the third-largest private telco in India, is not really doing or saying much lately with respect to 5G. Let’s take a look at what’s the reality of the 5G launch in India.

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Vodafone Idea Has Not Made Any Launch Announcements for 5G, Airtel and Jio Have

Both Airtel and Jio have made many announcements related to 5G. Both telcos addressed the concerns of their customers and explained which kind of 5G they would launch and when they would launch it. Airtel and Jio have confirmed to launch 5G services in October 2022. Jio has even listed out the four cities where its 5G SA networks would reach initially – Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. While Airtel hasn’t listed any names yet, we can expect the telco to target metro cities as well. In addition, Airtel and Jio have confirmed that by 2024, they will reach most of the country with their 5G networks.