Vodafone Idea (VI) is an Indiantelecommunications company, headquartered inMumbai andGandhinagar.[7][8][9] It is an all-India integratedGSMoperator offeringmobile telephony services.
 | |
| VI | |
| Company type | Private |
| ISIN | INE669E01016 |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | |
| Founded | August 31, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-08-31) |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , India |
Area served | India |
Key people |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue |  ₹42,765 crore (US$5.0 billion)[3] (2024) |
| ₹16,850 crore (US$2.0 billion)[3] (2024) | |
 ₹−31,238 crore (US$−3.6 billion)[3] (2025) | |
| Total assets | ₹184,997 crore (US$22 billion)[4] (2024) |
| Total equity | ₹−104,166 crore (US$−12 billion)[4] (2024) |
| Owners |
|
Number of employees | 16,084 (2024)[6] |
| Subsidiaries | YOU Broadband (100%) |
| Website | myvi |
As of 30 September 2024, Vi has a subscriber base of 212.45 million,[10] making itthird largest mobile telecommunications network in India and12th largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.[11]
Vodafone Idea was created on 31 August 2018 by themerger ofVodafone India andIdea Cellular.[12] On 20 September 2020, the two separate brands Vodafone India and Idea Cellularrebranded as Vodafone Idea (Vi).[13][14][15]
History
editIn March 2017, it was announced thatVodafone India andIdea Cellular wouldmerge.The merger got approval from theDepartment of Telecommunications in July 2018. On 30 August 2018,National Company Law Tribunal gave the final nod to the Vodafone-Idea merger.[16] It was completed on 31 August 2018, and the new entity was named Vodafone Idea.[17][18][11] Under the terms of the deal, theVodafone Group Plc held a 45.2% stake in the combined entity, theAditya Birla Group held 26% and the remainingshares were to be held by the public.[11]
Vodafone Idea lost a significant number of gross and active subscribers in the month of August 2020.[19]
Until 7 September 2020, Vodafone Idea operated two separate brands:[20] Vodafone India and Idea Cellular who both operated pre-paid and post-paidGSM service.[21][22]
On 3 February 2023, theGovernment of India ordered thecompany to convert itsinterest dues worth 161.33 billionIndian Rupees ($1.96 billion) toequity at the rate of 10 rupees per share face value (well over then market value ~8.5), thus making the government the single biggestshareholder in the company.[23]
On March 2025, the Government of India further raised its stake to 48.99% by acquiring additional shares worth ₹36,950 crore ($4.5 billion).[24]
Network
editSpectrum frequency holding summary
editVodafone Idea owns spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3500 MHz and 26 GHz bands across thecountry.[25]
| Telecom circle coverage | E-GSM/LTE-FDD 900MHz Band 8 | GSM / LTE-FDD 1800MHz Band 3 | UMTS /LTE-FDD 2100MHz Band 1 | LTE-FDD 2300MHz Band 40 | TD-LTE 2500MHz Band 41 | NR-TDD 3500MHz Band n78 | NR-TDD 26GHz Band n258 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi |  | | |  | | | |
| Mumbai | | | | | | | |
| Kolkata | | | | | | | |
| Andhra Pradesh &Telangana | | | | | | | |
| Gujarat | | | | | | | |
| Karnataka | | | | | | | |
| Maharashtra &Goa | | | | | | | |
| Tamil Nadu | | | | | | | |
| Haryana | | | | | | | |
| Kerala | | | | | | | |
| Madhya Pradesh &Chhattisgarh | | | | | | | |
| Punjab | | | | | | | |
| Rajasthan | | | | | | | |
| Uttar Pradesh (East) | | | | | | | |
| Uttar Pradesh (West) | | | | | | | |
| West Bengal | | | | | | | |
| Assam | | | | | | | |
| Bihar &Jharkhand | | | | | | | |
| Himachal Pradesh | | | | | | | |
| Jammu and Kashmir &Ladakh | | | | | | | |
| North East | | | | | | | |
| Odisha | | | | | | | |
This table contains Vodafone Idea radio frequency details because they had integrated their networks with each other and using one anchor network for both brands in all respective telecom circles. For example, Idea has started 4G services inDelhi andKolkata telecom circle from May 2018 where the Vodafone is anchor network vice versa Vodafone has Started 4G services inMadhya Pradesh &Chhattisgarh,Bihar &Jharkhand,Andhra Pradesh &Telangana,Himachal Pradesh andJammu and Kashmir telecom Circle's where Idea is Anchor network.[26][27] In March 2025, Vodafone Idea (Vi) launched its 5G services in Mumbai.[28]
Network consolidation
editBy March 2019, Vodafone Idea announced its network consolidation across major circles, easing network issues faced by consumers and also enhancing its 4G coverage. Announcements of Network Consolidation were made as below:
Enhanced Unified (2G, 3G, and 4G) coverage details
| State | No of Towns Covered | No of Villages Covered | Coverage area %/km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haryana[29] | 145 | 6520 | 99.5% |
| ROWB[30] | 878 | 37585 | 97% |
| Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh[31] | 664 | 53130 | 60% |
| Jammu and Kashmir[32] | 110 | 3301 | |
| AP & Telangana[33] | 391 | 19700 | 92.5% |
| Bihar & Jharkhand[34] | 431 | 43503 | 79% |
| HP[35] | 59 | 11929 | |
| NESA & Assam[36] | 439 | 17850 | 41% |
Enhanced (4G) coverage details
| State | No of Towns Covered | No of districts Covered | No of Villages Covered | Population % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haryana[29] | 137 | 22 | 76.08% | |
| ROWB[30] | 838 | 27 | 78% | |
| Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh[31] | 633 | 77 | 52% | |
| Jammu and Kashmir[32] | 48 | 9 | 526 | 23.6% |
| AP & Telangana[33] | 381 | 23 | 8500 | 67% |
| Bihar & Jharkhand[34] | 343 | 56 | 19931 | 45.3% |
| HP[35] | 45 | 8 | 6082 | 43% |
| NESA & Assam[36] | 340 | 83 | 4200 | 70% |
| Punjab[37] | 227 | 24 | 10162 | 90% |
Vi Movies & TV
editAs of September 2023, Vi Movies & TV app is currently available for Vi subscribers onAndroid (aboveAndroid 5.1) andiOS devices (10.0 and above versions).[38]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^Livemint (3 August 2022)."Vodafone Idea names Ravinder Takkar as Chairman, Himanshu Kapania to step down".mint. Retrieved12 September 2022.
- ^"Kumar Mangalam Birla back as non-executive director of Vodafone Idea, 2 years after his exit".moneycontrol.com. 20 April 2023. Retrieved20 April 2023.
- ^abc"Vodafone Idea Limited Consolidated Profit & Loss account, Vodafone Idea Limited Financial Statement & Accounts"(PDF).www.bseindia.com. Retrieved16 May 2024.
- ^ab"Vodafone Idea Limited Consolidated Balance Sheet, Vodafone Idea Limited Financial Statement & Accounts"(PDF).www.moneycontrol.com. Retrieved16 May 2024.
- ^https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/govt-to-raise-stake-in-vi-to-49-with-fresh-acquisition-worth-rs-37-000-cr-125033000634_1.html
- ^"Annual Report 2023-24"(PDF).myvi.in. 5 August 2024. Retrieved6 August 2024.
- ^"Overview | Vodafone Idea Limited".www.vodafoneidea.com. Retrieved24 July 2019.
- ^"India's Idea Cellular Will Use Nokia's Cloud Core".SDxCentral. Retrieved4 September 2018.
- ^"Vodafone Mini Stores in Mumbai Will Now Facilitate Tata Power Bill Payments via M-Pesa e-wallet - MySmartPrice News".MySmartPrice. 8 August 2018. Archived fromthe original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved4 September 2018.
- ^"Q4-Report-FY 2023 By Vodafone Idea Limited". 6 August 2020.
- ^abc"Disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015"(PDF).BSE. Retrieved31 August 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^"VIL Press Release - 31st August.pdf"(PDF).www.vodafoneidea.com. Retrieved24 July 2019.
- ^"Vodafone Idea re-brands itself 'Vi'".The Indian Express. 7 September 2020. Retrieved7 September 2020.
- ^"New brand Press Release_Media .pdf"(PDF).www.vodafoneidea.com. Retrieved3 October 2020.
- ^"Vodafone Idea rebrands itself, to go by brand name Vi".Zee News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved7 September 2020.
- ^Parbat, Kalyan; Sengupta, Devina (31 August 2018)."NCLT gives go-ahead to Idea-Vodafone merger".The Economic Times. Retrieved1 September 2018.
- ^Guha, Romit (20 March 2017)."Idea approves merger with Vodafone India, to create India's largest telco".The Economic Times. Retrieved20 March 2017.
- ^Kurup, Rajesh (20 March 2017)."Idea Cellular board approves merger with Vodafone India; shares tank 9%".The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved20 March 2017.
- ^"Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Add Subscribers In August, Vi Lags".BloombergQuint. 12 November 2020. Retrieved17 November 2020.
- ^Staff Writer (7 September 2020)."Vodafone and Idea are now 'Vi'".Livemint. Retrieved7 September 2020.
- ^"Vodafone idea postpaid services consolidated".The Economics time Telecom. Retrieved22 July 2020.
- ^"Vodafone idea will drop idea brand from postpaid service's".The Economics time. Retrieved7 February 2020.
- ^"India asks Vodafone Idea to convert nearly $2 bln in govt dues into equity".Reuters. 3 February 2023. Retrieved26 March 2023.
- ^"Govt to raise stake in Vodafone Idea to 49% with fresh acquisitions worth Rs 37,000 crore".The Indian Express. Retrieved2 April 2025.
- ^Pan India Telecom Spectrum holding chart 2022 (updated), Only Tech, 25 March 2020, retrieved7 October 2022
- ^Idea Cellular 4G Services Now Live in Delhi With Vodafone Network, Telecom Talk, retrieved15 July 2018
- ^Idea to launch VoLTE in March, inks 4G ICR agreement with Vodafone, ET Telecom, retrieved15 July 2018
- ^"Vodafone Idea (Vi) 5G Service Goes Live in Mumbai: Check Plans".Gadgets 360. 18 March 2025. Retrieved18 March 2025.
- ^abwww.ETTelecom.com."Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Haryana - ET Telecom".ETTelecom.com. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^abwww.ETTelecom.com."Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in rest of West Bengal - ET Telecom".ETTelecom.com. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^ab"Vodafone Idea Successfully Completes Radio Network Consolidation In Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh".Communications Today. 8 March 2019. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^ab"Vodafone Idea completes network integration in J&K".The Economic Times. 2 March 2019. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^ab"Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in AP & Telangana".@businessline. 19 February 2019. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^abDua, Priyanka (24 February 2019)."Vodafone Idea radio network integration in Bihar, Jharkhand".Gizbot. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^abwww.ETTelecom.com."Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Punjab - ET Telecom".ETTelecom.com. Retrieved13 June 2019.
- ^abwww.ETTelecom.com."Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in NESA & Assam - ET Telecom".ETTelecom.com. Retrieved4 February 2019.
- ^"Radio Network Consolidation In Punjab"(PDF).Vodafoneidea.com. Retrieved28 May 2019.
- ^"Vi Movies & TV: Watch Live TV, TV Shows & Movies Online".
