Vodafone Idea result shows drop in 4G customers

Vodafone Idea said quarterly revenue has reached Rs 109.3 billion, a 4 percent increase from the previous quarter, driven by a 5.6 percent rise in customer revenue due to recent tariff hikes by private operators.

Mobile data user in Gulf smartphone market
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Capital expenditure (Capex) of Vodafone Idea for Q2FY25 was Rs 13.6 billion, up from Rs 7.6 billion in Q1FY25. The company expects to spend Rs 80 billion on Capex in the second half of FY25.

Vodafone Idea has boosted 4G data capacity by ~14 percent and expanded 4G population coverage to 1.05 billion by September 2024, up from 1.03 billion in March.

Vi added around 42,000 4G sites in Q2FY25, the highest-ever quarterly addition, and deployed 4G on the 900 MHz band across ~20,500 sites for improved indoor coverage and on the 1800 and 2100 MHz bands to enhance network capacity.

Around 19,700 3G sites were shut down, leaving only eight circles with 3G coverage. Vi’s broadband site count reached ~439,600 by September 30, 2024.

Following agreements with three major equipment manufacturers – Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung — 4G expansion efforts began in October 2024. Vi aims to cover 1.1 billion people with 4G by March 2025 and 1.2 billion by September 2025. 5G rollout is expected to begin in select areas in Q4FY25.

The 4G subscriber base declined to 125.9 million, partly due to tariff hikes, though the postpaid segment saw consistent growth, especially among retail and M2M customers.

Vi has introduced the updated RED X Plan at Rs. 1,201 per month, featuring unlimited data, streaming subscriptions (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime), international roaming, and priority customer service.

Vi Movies & TV, with 18 OTT partners, has been integrated into some premium prepaid and postpaid plans, adding options like Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLiv, Zee5, and regional OTTs for Vi customers across major smart TV platforms.

Customer ARPU (excluding M2M) rose to Rs 166 in Q2FY25, a 7.8 percent quarter-on-quarter increase, driven by recent tariff hikes.

Vodafone Idea has revealed that debt from banks and financial institutions dropped by Rs 45.8 billion over the last year, standing at Rs 32.5 billion as of Q2FY25. The cash and bank balance was Rs 136.2 billion as of September 30, 2024.

Total obligations to the government reached Rs 2,122.6 billion, including Rs 1,419.4 billion in deferred spectrum payments and Rs 703.2 billion in AGR liabilities.

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