Vodafone Idea share price up 4% after launching 5G services in Mumbai

The stock rose 4% to ₹7.39 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at 9:22 am. The company's market capitalisation stands at ₹52,759.45 crore.

The telco's 5G introductory offer provides VI users with unlimited 5G data on plans starting at ₹299. The service seeks to improve the user experience for activities like online gaming, watching videos and OTT apps, video calls, and downloads.

The 5G market is dominated by Jio, which had 170 million 5G subscribers as of December 2024, followed by Bharti Airtel with a subscriber base of 120 million.

Vodafone Idea is looking to roll out 5G services in 100 cities/towns across 17 circles over the next three years. In the past 12 months, the company has raised equity of ₹26,000 crore, including the largest follow-on public offer of ₹18,000 crore and a promoter contribution of ₹4,000 crore, allowing the company to accelerate its capex deployment.

"With the planned capex investment of ₹50,000 to ₹55,000 crore over 3 years, the company is working towards expansion of its 4G network to cover 90% of Indians, in addition to the launch of 5G services in key geographies, to continuously enhance the customer experience," the company said in an exchange filing.

Jagbir Singh, chief technology officer of Vodafone Idea, said that VI has invested in building a robust 5G network by utilising the latest 5G technology.

"By expanding our infrastructure, we are delivering a network that is ready for the future- seamless, powerful and built for the demands of modern connectivity," he added.

On the introductory offer, Singh told PTI, "We are keen to get existing and potential 5G device consumers to experience our launch offering, and with millions of consumers today on the ₹299 and above data plans we would want this cohort of consumers to experience our worry-free 5G offering."

Meanwhile, VI is also in talks with Satcom players to explore potential partnerships. The company believes that the technology could be used in areas where traditional connectivity infrastructure like cell towers or fibre-optic cables are lacking.