Vodafone Idea has announced that it has concluded a mega ~USD 3.6 billion (~Rs. 30,000 crore) deal with Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung, for supply of network equipment over a period of three years.
The company says that this is the first step towards the rollout of the company’s transformative three-year capex plan of ~USD 6.6 billion (Rs. 55,000 crore). The capex programme is directed towards expanding the 4G population coverage from 1.03 billion to 1.2 billion, launching 5G in key markets and capacity expansion in line with data growth, Vi added.
The company said that it has continued with its existing long-term partners Nokia and Ericsson and also onboarded Samsung as a new partner.
VIL’s partnership with these leading technology providers will enable it to offer enhanced customer experiences and improve network efficiency. The new equipment will also help reduce operating costs.
These contracts will allow the Company to quickly capitalize on the latest state-of-the-art equipment to offer enhanced customer experience. Further, the learnings and insights obtained by the vendors in the Indian market over the last two years, will enable the company to embark on a more flexible and modular rollout plan by customising the services for all advanced technologies (4G & 5G).
To fund this ambitious capex plan, VIL has raised Rs. 24000 crore through equity and acquired additional spectrum worth Rs. 3500 core. The company has already started implementing quick-win capex projects, resulting in a 15% boost in capacity and an increase in population coverage by 16 million by the end of September 2024.
To support its long-term capex needs, VIL is in advanced discussions with lenders to secure Rs. 25000 crore in funded facilities and Rs. 10000 crore in non-fund-based facilities. An independent third-party evaluation of the company’s long-term projections has been completed and submitted to banks for their review.
Regarding this, Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said:
We are committed to invest in emerging network technologies to provide a best-in-class experience to our customers. We have kickstarted the investment cycle. We are on our journey of VIL 2.0 and from hereon, VIL will stage a smart turnaround to effectively participate in the industry growth opportunities. Nokia and Ericsson have been our partners since our inception and this marks another milestone in that continuing partnership. We are pleased to start our new partnership with Samsung. We look forward to work closely with all our partners as we move into the 5G era.