Airtel 5G Plus network is now live in 22 telecom circles, but where is Vi 5G?

Airtel Thursday announced that it has completed the rollout of its 5G network in 22 telecom circles, earmarked as Licensed Service Areas (LSA) as part of the government-mandated rollout obligations. The announcement comes days after Airtel’s close rival Reliance Jio said it also completed the minimum rollout obligations in the country.

The Airtel 5G Plus network began rolling out in India in October last year with four metro cities. In more than 10 months, the telecom company has reached more than 3,500 cities, covering a vast majority of all telecom circles. Airtel said it has introduced 5G services on 26GHz spectrum in all 22 telecom circles.

“With broader 5G opportunities enabled by 26GHz, the company is poised to continuously drive innovation to create the ultimate Airtel 5G Plus experience for its customers,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel said it has surpassed the 10 million unique customer mark on its 5G network and is on track to cover every town and rural area with its 5G service by September this year. This is an expedition to the company’s previous goal where it said the 5G network in the entire country will be available by December 2023. Airtel currently offers 5G data to both prepaid and postpaid customers at no additional cost.

Earlier this month, the company announced its audited consolidated results for the first quarter ended June 30. The consolidated revenues for Q1 FY24 at Rs 37,440 crore, that grew 14.1 percent (on-year). India revenues stood at Rs 26,375 crore, increased by 13.1 percent year over year.

What’s with Vi 5G?

While Airtel and Reliance Jio have completed the minimum rollout obligation, the third leading private telecom company Vi is likely struggling to secure funds to initiate the 5G rollout. Recently, Vi informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that the company is planning to pay Rs 1,680 crore for the second instalment for the 5G spectrum it acquired last year for Rs 18,799 crore in the auction. On the other hand, DoT, as reported by Mint, may impose hefty fines on Vi, as well as Adani Data Networks — which also acquired 5G airwaves in last year’s auction, for not complying with the minimum 5G rule.