Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator, will soon raise prices for 5G access. If you paid attention, Jio and Airtel are offering 5G with 2GB daily data plans. This puts their 5G at a certain premium. As for Vodafone Idea, the 5G access comes with plans that cost Rs 299 or more. This is something that the company will likely look to change in the near future, said a note from Axis Capital.
Axis Capital said, "The company (read: Vi) will look to increase the minimum threshold for availing of 5G, like with Bharti/Jio, as the network expands." (via ET)
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The telco's 5G is currently available only in select cities/circles in India. That's going to change in the coming months as Vi has said it will deploy 5G in all the priority circles by August 2025. Vi's management noted that 5G rollout has eased the 4G traffic load and improved the 4G experience for customers.
It is worth noting that even Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio started with prepaid plans that cost Rs 299 or more for 5G. This is what the srategy of Vi is as well. Once the network coverage improves, the leverage to start charging more for 5G access would come for Vi. At present, the telco is offering unlimited data with a cap of 300GB high-speed data consumption in a month. Vi has further targeted to reach 90% 4G population coverage as soon as possible.
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For this, Vi would require to raise funds from the banks. The debt is what will help the telco in continuing with the elevated capex. The Q4 FY25 results showed that the company has fast reduced bank debt. Thus, whether the banks would again trust Vi with their money or not is something time will tell us.
