Summary:
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has now chosen not to start its 5G -Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service in India. Instead, the company is preferring mobile 5G rollout in metro and urban areas to attract new users and reduce the churning, while competitors Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel aggressively expand their FWA home broadband services.
Vi’s Current 5G Strategy
Unlike Jio and Airtel, Vi is focusing on expanding 5G for mobile customers rather than investing in FWA, which requires standalone 5G and strong fixed-line infrastructure. Vi lags its rivals in both regions, making FWA rollouts less viable at this stage. The company said it would continue 5G pilots and use customer response to evaluate business matters for FWA in future.
Focus on Subscriber Growth
The priority of Vi is to encourage 4G and 2G users to upgrade to 5G handsets and strengthen its 4G/5G subscriber base, which has recently shown improvement. The purpose of the is to gradually expand its 5G footprint, which is aligned with the adoption of growing 5G devices.
Why Vi Is Holding Back on FWA
- High capex is needed: FWA requires a high investment in capacity expansion.
- Limited rural access: FWA is more relevant in suburban and rural India, where VI’s coverage is weaker than rivals.
- Strategic preferences: Mobile 5G provides rapid growth opportunities and reduces churning in competitive urban markets.
Industry Perspective
Analysts have highlighted that while FWA has a good opportunity in rural India, Vi’s current financial and infrastructure challenges focus more practical focus on mobile 5G. Reliance Jio and Airtel are placing big bets on FWA to increase broadband revenue, but Vi FWA is making a position to strengthen itself before entering the race.
Analysts have highlighted that while FWA has a good opportunity in rural India, Vi’s current financial and infrastructure challenges focus more on mobile 5G. Reliance Jio and Airtel are placing big bets on FWA to increase broadband revenue, but FWA is making a position to strengthen itself before entering the race.
