Vodafone Idea (Vi) reported steady financial performance in Q3FY26, driven by subscriber growth, rising ARPU, and strategic investments in network expansion and 5G rollout.
Subscribers declined to 192.9 million, down from 199.8 million in Q3FY25, while postpaid subscribers rose to 28.8 million.
Total data subscribers remained stable at 134.9 million. 4G/5G subscribers increased to 128.5 million from 126.0 million in Q3FY25.
Blended ARPU rose to Rs 172, and customer ARPU (excluding M2M) increased 7.3 percent to Rs 186, primarily supported by customer upgrades.
Blended churn was at 4.4 percent, slightly higher than previous quarters.
Vodafone Idea’s 4G coverage expanded to 407,515 census towns and villages, reaching 85.5 percent of the population.
Vodafone Idea’s 2G coverage remained stable at 91.3 percent of the population.
Total unique telecom towers of Vodafone Idea grew to 203,555, with 197,692 broadband towers and 548,027 total broadband sites.
Total voice minutes were 345 billion, with average MoU at 592 minutes per user.
Total data volume reached 7,559 billion MB, with average 4G/5G data usage rising to 19,676 MB per subscriber.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Vi posted revenue of Rs 11,323 crore, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 1.9 percent. Reported EBITDA stood at Rs. 4,816 crore, while cash EBITDA excluding IndAS 116 impact was Rs. 2,358 crore, slightly lower than Rs. 2,450 crore in Q3FY25.
Vi’s strategic focus on network investments was supported by a quarterly Capex of Rs 2,252 crore, bringing 9MFY26 Capex to Rs 6,448 crore. The company’s bank debt stood at Rs. 1,126 crore, with an additional Rs 3,300 crore raised through non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Cash and bank balance was healthy at Rs 6,963 crore.
Abhijit Kishore, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said: “Our initiatives translated into customer engagement with ARPU and data consumption improving sequentially.”
5G and 4G Network Expansion
Since launching Vi 5G services in Mumbai in March 2025, the operator has expanded coverage to all 17 priority circles where it holds 5G spectrum, contributing to approximately 99 percent of revenue. Recently, Vi extended 5G to all districts of Kerala and is now live in 43 cities across all priority circles.
Alongside 5G, Vi continues to enhance its 4G and broadband network. The 4G population coverage increased to 85.5 percent as of December 2025, up from around 77 percent in March 2024. Data capacity expanded by over 43 percent, driving a 22 percent improvement in 4G speeds. Vi added more than 6,500 new unique 4G towers in Q3FY26, taking its total broadband site count to over 548,000. With planned investments, 4G coverage in the 17 priority circles is expected to exceed 95 percent.
Strategic Outlook
Vi’s focus on expanding high-speed broadband and 5G coverage aligns with its strategy to enhance customer experience, improve network quality, and capture higher ARPU. Continued investment in infrastructure, coupled with disciplined capital allocation, positions the company to strengthen its competitive edge in the Indian telecom market.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
