Vodafone Idea (Vi) customers could soon witness an improvement in the 4G services. Vi is reportedly in discussions with Nokia and Ericsson to upgrade 4G gear. Vi still offers great 4G download and upload speeds, however, as per Opensignal data over the last few years, the only area where it has lagged is coverage. The recent funding will help Vi in sourcing gear from the vendors. Vi raised Rs 18,000 crore through FPO (follow-on public offer) and another Rs 2,000 crore through a promoter entity. The telco has earmarked most of the fresh funds to be used for capex (capital expenditure).
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This will include improving the 4G network, by replacing the old gear with the new advanced ones. According to an ET report mentioning an executive working for one of the vendors, the order will be placed by Vi once the elections and spectrum auctions are over. Vendors have been very careful lately when it comes to working with Vodafone Idea.
The cash-trapped telco has not been paying off the vendor dues on time. Thus, when it came to providing gear on credit, vendors took a step back and signalled that they would only work with Vi if the telco could place orders in cash. The recent funding would instil confidence in the vendors to work again with Vi, not on credit, of course, but through contracts that very carefully secure their payment.
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Vi might also purchase 5G gear from the vendors in the coming months. While the telco has not shown any urgency in rolling out 5G, the competitors offering it throughout the country can lead to major subscriber loss in the short-to-medium term. Vi is also going to offer 5G on top of its 4G network, meaning 5G NSA (non-standalone) like Airtel.
