Ericsson India eyes 5G deal with Vodafone Idea, talks underway: Report

"Vodafone Idea is our partner, and we are in discussions with them. We are hopeful that when they launch 5G, we will be supporting them in their rollouts," he was quoted as saying by the business website.

Ericsson supplies 5G equipment to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Both telecom operators also collaborate with Nokia to procure 5G equipment.

Vodafone Idea, also known as Vi, expects to start the 5G rollout in six months, chief executive officer Akshaya Moondra said in an earnings call after the Q4 results.

"We are in talks with tech partners for 5G. We are also in the advanced stages of trials of OrAN and VRAN. We expect to start rolling out 5G in six months from now. The main focus will be on main cities or areas where there is a large concentration of devices," he had said.

Vodafone Idea Q4 results

The consolidated net loss of Vi widened to ₹7,674.6 crore in Q4FY24 compared to a net loss of ₹6,418.9 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's revenue from operations stood at ₹10,606 crore in the quarter ended in March 2024, up from ₹10,531 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Vi's average revenue per user (ARPU) increased slightly to ₹146 in the January-March quarter from ₹145 in the December quarter and ₹135 in Q4 FY23.