Vodafone Idea expands 5G to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 19 August 2025; 6093 views

Vodafone Idea has continued its rapid 5G rollout in India, with Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram the latest cities to go live.

Kochi went live today (19 August), with Thiruvananthapuram to follow tomorrow (August 20). Both cities fall within Vodafone Idea’s 17 priority markets earmarked for early 5G deployment due to their high populations, where the operator has acquired mmWave spectrum.

The operator has partnered with Ericsson to deliver connectivity in Kerala, with the Swedish vendor supplying advanced, energy-efficient infrastructure. Ericsson has also deployed AI-powered Self-Organizing Networks (SON) to automatically optimise performance across the network.

In parallel with its 5G rollout, Vodafone Idea has boosted its 4G capacity in the state by 22% since March 2024. The operator has deployed 900MHz spectrum on more than 1,400 sites to strengthen indoor coverage and 2100MHz spectrum on 4,300 sites to expand capacity.

George Mathew, Business Head for Kerala at Vodafone Idea, said: “With our next-gen 5G alongside our robust 4G services, we aim to provide more options and an enhanced experience to our users. We are committed to systematically expanding our 5G footprint across Kerala, in line with growing demand and 5G handset adoption.”