Indian telco Vodafone Idea (Vi) launched its 5G service across the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday in partnership with Ericsson, and said it was on track to roll out 5G in all 17 priority circles where it holds 5G spectrum by August this year.
As part of the Delhi NCR launch, Vi has deployed Ericsson’s energy-efficient and lightweight Massive MIMO radios, including the mid-band antenna-integrated AIR 3268 and AIR 3255.
Ericsson said its Massive MIMO radios give Vi’s non-standalone 5G network improved spectrum efficiency, lower total cost of ownership and a smaller energy footprint.
The Massive MIMO radios are part of a broader contract that Vodafone Idea awarded to Ericsson in October 2024 to upgrade the telco’s 4G network and deploy 5G across the circles it already powers for Vi, as well as the additional circles of Delhi Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Ericsson said it has successfully completed the network modernization of Vi’s network in Delhi, replacing legacy 2G and 4G equipment with its radio products.
Meanwhile, Vodafone idea also said it has deployed AI-powered self-organizing network (SON) technology to further optimize network performance.
The launch in Delhi NCR follows service launches in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Patna earlier this year. Vodafone idea said that cities such as Bengaluru and Mysuru are next on the map, with rollouts underway across other key markets in the remaining circles.
Vodafone said it has budgeted INR550 billion (US$6.4 billion) over three years to roll out its 5G network.
