Nokia to roll out 3,300 new sites for Vi’s 4G expansion

Nokia is quickly growing Vi's network in circles using the newest baseband and radio modules as part of its recent equipment agreement with Vodafone Idea (Vi). In order to extend Vi's 4G network in strategic areas, Nokia said on Wednesday that it would roll out about 3,300 new locations by March 2025.

Furthermore, Vi's network will have increased bandwidth and data capacity thanks to more than 25,000 spectrum expansions and improvements to more than 42,000 technology sites, according to Nokia. Thus far, 15 percent of new sites, approximately 40 percent of technological additions, and 100 percent of spectrum bandwidth augmentation have been finished.

In response to market demand, Nokia is also implementing ultra-lean sites for Vi in order to improve user experience in particular areas and meet hot spot coverage needs. According to Nokia, Vodafone Idea will keep concentrating on expanding its coverage and capacity in 2025, boosting data capacities and expanding its reach into more remote and unconnected locations.

"We are working closely with Nokia to expand our 4G network coverage to 20 million additional people by March 2025," stated Jagbir Singh, CTO of Vodafone Idea. Additionally, this will increase 4G network capacity by 25%, allowing us to provide better customer service in nine of our 17 priority rings.

"As a longstanding strategic partner of Vi, we are proud to support their LTE network expansion and modernisation across Nokia supplied circles," stated Tarun Chhabra, Senior Vice President and Country Head of Nokia (India). In addition to improving millions of Vi customers' mobile experiences, this update will set the stage for a smooth transition to 5G technology.

Vodafone Idea's 4G/5G plans

Vi signed three-year contracts in October with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for the upgrading of 4G and the rollout of 5G, totalling USD 3.6 billion (about Rs 30,000 crore). The capital expenditure plan aims to deploy 5G in strategic markets, increase capacity in tandem with data growth, and increase the 4G population coverage from 1.03 billion to 1.2 billion. 

By March 2025, the third-largest private telecom provider in India, Vodafone Idea (Vi) reportedly plans to launch commercial 5G services in 17 key circles, beginning in Delhi and Mumbai. By June 2025, Vi hopes to provide 4G connectivity to at least 90% of India's population. Vi recently declared that their 4G network would be available in Lakshadweep. 

Vi has raised Rs 24,000 crore in equity investment as part of its recovery plan, including Rs 18,000 crore from a follow-on public offering. In order to stop any subscriber losses, the corporation has already announced that a large portion of these money will be utilised to expand 4G coverage and introduce 5G. 

Vi will reportedly focus on developing and implementing 4G in order to boost capacity, enhance network quality, and make the most of its spectrum holdings in order to satisfy rising demand. The 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz bands are all covered by Vi.