Nokia indicated that it is on track to deliver more than 60,000 technology sites — including thousands of new 4G sites — to Vodafone Idea by the end of March
Finnish telecom equipment provider Nokia confirmed it has successfully delivered all necessary 5G gear to Indian operator Vodafone Idea in preparation for its upcoming 5G rollout.
Vodafone Idea is set to launch its 5G network in major cities, with Mumbai being the first to go live around mid-March, followed by Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Patna by April, the company has confirmed. Vodafone Idea has already commenced 5G trial runs in Mumbai.
“As the demand for reliable and high-performing networks continues to grow, our collaboration with Vodafone Idea will help address the emerging requirements of retail consumers and businesses. We achieved very fast delivery and deployment of 5G and 4G sites for Vodafone Idea,” said Tarun Chhabra, senior vice president and country head at Nokia India.
Nokia indicated that it is on track to deliver more than 60,000 technology sites — including thousands of new 4G sites — to Vodafone Idea by the end of March.
To enhance service quality in densely populated urban areas, Nokia noted it is implementing ultra-lean sites as part of its support for Vodafone Idea’s expansion.
“Nokia remains our valued long-term partner, consistently delivering exceptional support. The rapid 4G expansion will significantly enhance our coverage and capacity, enabling us to provide an exceptional customer experience as we move toward launching 5G services,” said Vodafone Idea CTO Jagbir Singh.
Nokia further stated that it is supplying the latest 4G and 5G baseband and radio modules to help the Indian telco strengthen its 4G network through new site deployments, technology advancements and increased spectrum bandwidth at existing locations.
To facilitate Vodafone Idea’s 5G deployment, Nokia said it is leveraging its AirScale portfolio, which features Multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) baseband units and radio modules powered by the energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology.
This upcoming 5G deployment follows a two-year delay since Vodafone Idea participated in the 2021 spectrum auctions, where rival operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm launched their 5G services soon after. Rival operators Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel already offer 5G services nationwide and operate an extensive 4G network.
The carrier had begun testing its 5G services in December 2024, conducting trials in 17 selected areas across India.
The cities included in the trial are Jaipur (Rajasthan), Karnal (Haryana), Kolkata (West Bengal), Thrikkakara, Kakkanad (Kerala), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh East), Agra (Uttar Pradesh West), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Siliguri (West Bengal), Patna (Bihar), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Jalandhar (Punjab), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Pune (Maharashtra) and Delhi.
The 5G trials by Vodafone Idea are accessible to both prepaid and postpaid customers and are operating on the 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz spectrum bands.
The Indian carrier, which is a joint venture between the U.K.’s Vodafone Group and India’s Aditya Birla Group had previously concluded different deals worth $3.6 billion with Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung for the supply of network equipment over a period of three years.
