Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) has tested 5G in Delhi in the 26 GHz spectrum frequency as well as 3.3 GHz band. The tests were verified by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) arm of Delhi LSA (licensed service area). As per a tweet from DoT Delhi, Vi's 5G rollout test in Delhi was conducted on August 18, 2023, a day later than the last date, to meet the minimum rollout obligations set by the government.
With this, VIL has now tested 5G in Pune and Delhi. Take into account that Vi had already set up 5G clusters in both of these cities. But they were meant for internal testing only and weren't rolled out commercially for the citizens. The telco doesn't seem to be in the position to roll out 5G at a large scale.
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While there's no urgent need for 5G as its applications for consumers remain severely limited, the enterprises can potentially partner with Jio and Airtel for long-term connectivity solutions related to 5G. This would be a potential business loss for Vi. The cash-strapped telco's ability to raise funds would determine whether it would be able to roll out 5G any time soon.
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Vi's management said during the recent earnings call that they are looking to close funding by the end of this year (in the December quarter). The fundraising would be against equity in the company. Vodafone Idea's promoter entity (most likely the Aditya Birla Group) has said that they are ready to infuse up to Rs 2000 crore to help with the impending payments in the near future. While that's not a sufficient amount, it will get the boat sailing a little forward.
Vodafone Idea may have to pay penalties to the DoT after missing the minimum rollout obligations for 5G as per the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) of spectrum auction 2022.
