Vodafone Idea seals Rs 30,000 crore deal with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung for 4G and 5G expansion

Vodafone Idea has secured contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung, a PTI report revealed. These contracts, which span a period of three years, are a crucial part of the company's Rs 55,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) plan. The investment will focus on expanding 4G coverage, launching 5G services, and meeting the growing demand for data in India.

The debt-laden telecom operator announced the deal as it strives to regain market share in an increasingly competitive industry. Vodafone Idea has faced financial difficulties since its merger in 2018 between Vodafone Group's Indian arm and Aditya Birla Group's Idea Cellular. Since then, the company has struggled to compete with larger rivals such as Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, both of which have made significant inroads into India’s telecom market.

The Rs 30,000 crore deal with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung is expected to provide Vodafone Idea with the necessary equipment to expand its 4G coverage from 1.03 billion to 1.2 billion people, as well as initiate the rollout of 5G services in key markets. The company confirmed that supplies under the new contract would begin arriving in the next quarter.

In a statement, Vodafone Idea said that its primary goal is to enhance 4G connectivity across India while simultaneously preparing to introduce 5G technology.

""Vodafone Idea has concluded a mega, about USD 3.6 billion (around Rs 300 billion), deal with Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung for supply of network equipment over a period of three years. 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," the company said in a statement.


Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said as per a Livemint report, “"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."

(With Reuters and PTI inputs)