VI to make focused investment to drive coverage and capacity says CEO

Vodafone Idea Ltd. plans to raise ₹43,000 crore for network infrastructure and 5G technology expansion.

Vodafone Idea Ltd. (VI) will have a capex of about ₹45,000 crore, of which it proposes to raise ₹18,000 crore via further public offer (FPO) within a week and raise another ₹25,000 crore via debt, CEO Akshaya Moondra said.

“VI is committed to continually enhancing its network infrastructure to meet the growing demand for data connectivity and providing 5G technology to customers, and aims to cover 40% of existing revenues in the 24 to 30 months post funding,” Mr. Moondra, addressing a press conference.

He said the company would look at maintaining a focused investment strategy and aim to enhance competitiveness in 17 key service areas, which together contributed 97.4%, 97.8%, 98.0% and 98.2% of revenue from operations during financial years 2021, 2022 and 2023 and the nine months ended December 31, 2023, respectively.

He said the company would invest across its remaining five service areas, ensuring seamless connectivity for all its customers. “VI has adopted a targeted approach to capital expenditure to drive growth and would deploy small cells in high-traffic areas of major cities within these service areas, further enhancing user experience,” Mr. Moondra said.

The company currently leverages the latest 4G technology, which is upgradeable to 5G. It is also in the process of deploying various advanced 5G technologies, including additional Massive MIMO sites for improved capacity, DSR for efficient user management, ORAN for increased flexibility, and core network cloudification for enhanced efficiency and agility. VI also aims to further expand its LTE 900 and 2,100 MHz spectrum presence across 14 service areas through dynamic spectrum refarming and deployment of additional TDD and Massive MIMO sites, the CEO added.