Vodafone Idea (Vi), India's third-largest telecom operator, has tested Vi AirFiber, a home broadband solution with multiple partners. Vi showcased the Vi AirFiber during the IMC (India Mobile Congress) 2023. The service hasn't commercially launched as the telco's 5G networks are still not available. Vi AirFiber is a 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) service that will compete with the offerings of Airtel (Airtel Xstream AirFiber) and Jio (Jio AirFiber).
For now, Vi has completed the deployment of 5G (very small-scale deployment) in four circles with four vendors. The telco will soon deploy 5G in more circles to meet the minimum rollout obligations set by the government.
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Vodafone Idea (Vi) had acquired spectrum during the 2022 spectrum auctions to roll out 5G. But the telco didn't go ahead with it due to not having sufficient funds. Vi believes that its delayed 5G rollout will help with getting a better return on investment as there are no major use cases of the technology available at the moment.
90% of Vi's TDD radios are 5G ready and the telco plans to roll out 5G NSA (non-standalone) like Airtel. Vi AirFiber will not become a reality until the time the telco figures out its 5G rollout throughout the country. In the meantime, Jio AirFiber has reached about 4000 cities/towns with its AirFiber services. Airtel, on the other hand, is going in a very conservative fashion.
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However, the growing market of FWA and demand for high-speed broadband services will definitely push Airtel to roll out the AirFiber service on a large scale as well. It will only be a matter of time before Vi also joins the competition with Vi AirFiber. The only issue that the telcos have to overcome is the cost of providing FWA services to customers because if the costs are too high, then they won't make any money on their investment.
