Vodafone Idea announced the launch of GIGAnet, claiming as the strongest 4G network in India, amid signs of not increasing Capex on network.
GIGAnet is the result of the largest network integration completed in record time and the spectrum refarming exercise in the world.
Deploying India’s largest AI powered ma-MIMOs sites, GIGAnet has the largest deployment of universal cloud, Vishant Vora, chief technology officer of Vodafone Idea, said. “GIGAnet offers faster downloads and uploads, low latency and real-time connectivity.”
Vodafone Idea said its 4G population coverage now reaches nearly 1 billion Indians and the company continues to invest in 4G to increase coverage and capacity.
Vodafone Idea has deployed new technologies and these network investments have delivered a significant capacity uplift and enabled it to offer fastest 4G speeds in many markets including metros, as per Ookla.
Vodafone Idea posted loss of Rs 25,467 crore, largely due to provisioning for AGR dues, during the April-June quarter.
Vodafone Idea lost 11.3 million mobile phone subscribers during the April-June quarter to 279.8 million in total. Vodafone Idea lost 1 million 4G subscribers in the recent quarter. Vodafone Idea’s 4G subscriber base stands at 104.6 million. Vodafone Idea’s total data subscribers declined by 3.8 million to 135.7 million.
“Vodafone Idea will gradually lose market share given its weak balance sheet and limited financial flexibility. Jio, which was unaffected by the court’s ruling, is likely to strengthen its market leadership with further subscriber gains,” Fitch Ratings said recently.
Jio and Bharti will increase their combined revenue market share to 75-80 percent from 70 percent in the next 12-18 months. Vodafone Idea will likely lose 50-70 million subscribers in the next 12 months.
Vodafone Idea lost about 155 million subscribers in the last nine quarters. Fitch Ratings said Jio could snap up more than half of Vodafone Idea’s subscriber losses, with the balance going to Bharti Airtel.
