Vi Confirms the Roll Out of its 5G Services in India

Vi 5G roll out: Vodafone Idea, also known as Vi, has confirmed that it has started rolling out its 5G network in India. The announcement comes a day after reports suggested that the company had begun 5G roll out in the country and it makes Vodafone Idea, the third company after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to introduce its 5G services in the country. The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited or BSNL is yet to commence 5G roll out in India.

As far as the services are concerned, Vi, via a post on X, said that while it had begun rolling out its 5G services in India, it will share its detailed availability roadmap in the future.

"We have successfully rolled out 5G services in accordance with MRO guidelines. A full-scale launch to all users is part of our roadmap, and we will share more details at an appropriate time," Vi wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that Vodafone Idea has started rolling out its 5G network in licensed service areas (LSAs) in India on the 26GHz and 3.3GHz spectrums to both prepaid and postpaid users. Reports also suggest that the company is making its 5G services available to prepaid subscribers who have subscribed to Rs 475 plan and the postpaid subscribers who have subscribed to the RedX Rs 1,101 plan.

Furthermore, reports suggest that Vodafone Idea is deploying non-standalone (NSA) 5G. NSA 5G is the type of 5G that uses 4G infrastructure for providing 5G connectivity. Such a network is easier to deploy and more cost-effective as telecom operators don't have to install additional infrastructure for its deployment. Airtel uses NSA 5G. Standalone 5G or SA 5G, on the other hand, requires telecom operators to install dedicated equipment, which makes pricier to deploy. However, NSA 5G is less power efficient and it doesn't deliver low latency unlike SA 5G.

As far as availability is concerned, Vi's 5G network is reportedly available to select users in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Jaipur among others.