Vodafone Idea has strengthened its collaboration with Ericsson to modernize postpaid services and accelerate 5G and 4G network expansion across India.
The expanded partnership announced – at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2026) in Barcelona — marks a significant step in Vi’s digital transformation journey, focusing on cloud-native charging, AI-driven automation, and enhanced network capacity. Vodafone Idea (Vi) has lost its mobile subscriber base to 198.77 million million at the end of 2025 from 207.26 in 2024.
Accelerating 5G and 4G Network Rollout Across India
Since 2024, Ericsson has supported Vi’s network growth by deploying new 5G and 4G sites, adding layers to existing infrastructure, and rolling out High-Performance Small Cell towers across 10 telecom circles. The collaboration will continue to strengthen Vi’s network footprint through new site deployments, integration, and capacity augmentation.
These initiatives are aimed at improving indoor coverage, increasing data capacity, and supporting Vi’s broader 5G and 4G connectivity expansion strategy. The move aligns with Vi’s efforts to enhance customer experience as data consumption continues to rise across consumer and enterprise segments.
Cloud-Native Ericsson Charging to Power Postpaid Growth
Building on the successful migration of hundreds of millions of prepaid users to Ericsson Charging in 2023, Vi has now selected cloud-native Ericsson Charging to support its postpaid subscriber base. This landmark agreement expands Ericsson’s footprint beyond prepaid services, making it a key pan-India supplier of online charging solutions for both prepaid and postpaid customers.
The deployment will enable Vi to deliver real-time account updates, personalized offers, and innovative postpaid plans. By transitioning from legacy offline charging and rating systems to Ericsson’s Convergent Charging System, Vi will introduce real-time charging for voice, VoLTE, SMS, and data services across consumer and enterprise businesses.
The upgraded system is designed to be flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient, allowing Vi to launch new services faster while improving operational efficiency and customer experience. Importantly, it will help prepare Vi’s network for 5G Standalone architecture in the future.
AI-Driven Telco IT Transformation
As part of the agreement, Vi will adopt Ericsson Telco IT AI Apps to enhance automation and service reliability. The AI applications include:
Anomaly Detection for Charging Applications
Order Fallout Detection and Prediction
Capacity Forecast for Telco Cloud Stack
Intelligent Usage Analysis for Charging
These AI-driven tools will enable better resource planning, faster issue resolution, improved billing accuracy, and optimized service delivery, ultimately strengthening customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Open Architecture and Operational Efficiency
Ericsson’s convergent charging solution complies with TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture standards and incorporates open APIs. The platform enables catalogue-driven product configuration and integrated charging and policy control, allowing Vi to introduce new digital offerings more efficiently.
The deployment is also expected to deliver significant operational benefits, including reduced OPEX and the ability to support advanced, personalized services in the evolving digital ecosystem.
Strengthening a Longstanding Strategic Alliance
Jagbir Singh, Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone Idea, highlighted that the cloud-native charging platform will future-proof Vi’s architecture and enable the operator to meet growing digital and 5G demands in India. He emphasized that customers will benefit from real-time account information, advanced offers, and AI-enabled service enhancements.
Andres Vicente, CEO for Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson, noted that the expanded collaboration reflects Ericsson’s deep understanding of Vi’s business and its commitment to modernizing postpaid charging from an offline to real-time model.