Vodafone Idea

Vodafone Idea Limited[9][10] is an Indian telecom operator[11] with its headquarters based in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Gandhinagar, Gujarat.[12][13] Vodafone Idea is a pan-India integrated GSM operator offering 2G, 3G and 4G, 4G+ and VoLTE mobile services under two brands named Vodafone and Idea. Vodafone Idea also provides services including Mobile payments, IoT, enterprise offerings and entertainment, accessible via both digital channels as well as on-ground touch points, centres across the country.[14] As of 31 December 2019, Vodafone Idea has a subscriber base of 332.65 million,[7] making it second largest mobile telecommunications network in India and fifth largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.[10] Vodafone Idea has a broadband network of 340,000 sites, distribution reach of 1.7 million retail outlets.[14]

Vodafone Idea Limited
Public
Traded as
ISININE669E01016
IndustryTelecommunications
Predecessor
Founded31 August 2018 (31 August 2018)
HeadquartersMumbai (Corp.)[2][3]
Gandhinagar (Reg.)
Key people
Kumar Mangalam Birla
(Chairman)
Ravinder Takkar
(CEO)[4]
ProductsMobile telephony
Wireless broadband
Internet services
Revenue ₹378,236 million (US$5.3 billion) (2019)[5]
₹-192,243 million (US$−2.7 billion) (2019)[5]
₹-145,711 million (US$−2.0 billion) (2019)[5]
Total assets ₹2,296,995 million (US$32 billion) (2019)[5]
Total equity ₹596,348 million (US$8.4 billion) (2019)[5]
OwnersVodafone Group (45.1%)
Aditya Birla Group (26.0%)
Axiata Group Berhad (8.17%)
Private Equity (20.73%) [6]
Members332.65 million[7]
(31 December 2019)
Number of employees
13,520 (2019)[5]
SubsidiariesYou Broadband Limited[8]
Websitewww.vodafoneidea.com

On 31 August 2018, Vodafone India merged with Idea Cellular, and was renamed as Vodafone Idea Limited. However, the merged entity continues using both the Idea and Vodafone brand.[9] Currently, the Vodafone Group holds a 45.1% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group holds 26% and the remaining shares will be held by the public.[10] Kumar Mangalam Birla heads the merged company as the Chairman and Balesh Sharma used to be the CEO. After a plunge in share price of Vodafone Idea by 80% on NSE, Balesh Sharma resigned citing personal reasons. Ravinder Takkar, Ex-CEO of Vodafone Romania and the key deal negotiator from Vodafone has taken over the reigns as CEO.[4]

History

The entry of Jio in 2016 had led to various mergers and consolidations in the Indian telecom sector.[15] It was announced in March 2017 that even Idea Cellular and Vodafone India would be merged. The merger got approval from Department Of Telecommunications in July 2018. On August 30, 2018, National Company Law Tribunal gave the final nod to the Vodafone-Idea merger [16] The merger was completed on 31 August 2018, and the newly merged entity was named Vodafone Idea Limited.[17][18][10] The merger created the largest telecom company in India by subscribers and by revenue. Under the terms of the deal, the Vodafone Group holds a 45.2% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group holds 26% and the remaining shares will be held by the public.[10]

Network

Radio frequency summary

Vodafone Idea Limited owns spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands across the country.[19]

Telecom circle coverage E-GSM/ FD-LTE
900MHz
Band 8		 GSM / FD-LTE
1800MHz
Band 3		 UMTS / FD-LTE
2100MHz
Band 1		 TD-LTE
2300MHz
Band 40		 TD-LTE
2500MHz
Band 41
Delhi
Mumbai
Kolkata
Chennai
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
Gujarat
Karnataka
Maharashtra & Goa
Tamil Nadu
Haryana
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Punjab
Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh (East)
Uttar Pradesh (West)
West Bengal
Assam
Bihar & Jharkhand
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
North East
Odisha

This table contains Vodafone Idea (merged entity) radio frequency details because they share their networks with each other via ICR (intra-circle roaming agreement) in some circles. For example, Idea has started 4G services in Delhi from May 2018 via the Vodafone network.[20][21]

Network consolidation

By March 2019, Vodafone Idea Limited announced its network consolidation across major circles, easing network issues faced by consumers and also enhancing its 4G coverage. Announcements of Network Consolidation were made as below

State No of Towns Covered No of Villages Covered Coverage area %/kms
Haryana[22] 145 6520 99.5%
ROWB[23] 878 37585 97%
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh[24] 664 53130 60%
Jammu and Kashmir[25] 110 3301
AP & Telangana[26] 391 19700 92.5%
Bihar & Jharkhand [27] 431 43503 79%
HP[28] 59 11929

Enhanced 4G coverage details

State No of Towns Covered No of districts Covered Population %
Haryana[22] 22 76.08%
ROWB[23] 838 27 78%
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh [24] 633 77 52%
Jammu and Kashmir[25] 48 9 23.6%
AP & Telangana [26] 381 23 67%
Bihar & Jharkhand[29] 343 56 45.3%
HP[28] 45 8 43%

Punjab network consolidation

Vodafone Idea Ltd., India’s leading telecom service provider announced the successful consolidation of its radio network integration in Punjab service area. With this, Punjab is amongst the first ten circles to complete integration in the world’s largest network integration exercise which is currently underway in India.[30]

Rajasthan network consolidation Vodafone Idea Ltd., India’s leading telecom service provider announced the successful consolidation of its radio network integration in Rajasthan service area. With this, Rajasthan is amongst the first eleven circles to complete integration in the world’s largest network integration exercise which is currently underway in India.

According to the telecom regulator's data, the pan India wireless subscriber base of Vodafone Idea at the end of March 2019 stood at 394.8 million. The statement on network consolidation in Punjab, said 4G services have been enhanced for both Vodafone and Idea customers in cities including Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Moga, and Hoshiarpur. And in Rajasthan Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Ajmer, Udaipur among others.[31]

Massive MIMO

Vodafone Idea deployed technologies such as massive MIMO, small cells, TDD sites to enhance coverage and network capacity in Mumbai and Delhi during March. As part of the modernization exercise, the company deployed more than 5000 massive MIMO, small cells and TDD sites across Church gate, Prabhadevi, Pali hill, Lokhandwala, Versova, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Bandra and Dadar among other regions[32] The company also deployed more than 4,000 Massive Mimo, small cells and TDD sites across the New Delhi and NCR region.[33]

Turbo-net

Vodafone Idea has launched "TurboNet" 4G services in select cities of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Rest of Bengal (including Kolkata) circles. The launch of TurboNet 4G follows the consolidation of its radio network integration and the deployment of technologies such as Dynamic Spectrum Re-farming (DSR), Spectrum Re-farming, M-MIMO, L900, TDD, and Small Cells to further boost network capacity and coverage across large parts of the country.[34]

Broadband

You Broadband (wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone idea limited) which offers fixed line broadband (FTTH) and voice services (VoIP) in indian major cities which includes Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kakinada, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Navsari, Powai, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Thane, Vadodara, Valsad, Vapi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.[35]

See also

References
  1. "Vodafone India and Idea Cellular successfully merged". Telecom Talk. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. investor-relations, Vodafone Idea Limited
  3. investor support, Vodafone Idea Limited
  4. Vodafone Idea CEO resigns
  5. "Vodafone Idea Annual Results 2019". vodafoneidea.com.
  6. "Axiata Share Holdings Pattern". Live Mint.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  7. "Press Release on Telecom Subscription Data as on 31 December, 2019" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  8. "About us". You Broadband Limited. 29 June 2019.
  9. "Bought shares of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India completed - creating India's largest telecom service provider" (PDF). Idea. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. "Disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015" (PDF). BSE. BSE. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  11. 31, ET Now | Aug; 2018; Ist, 05 02 Pm, Vodafone Idea Limited: Vodafone Idea replaces Airtel as India's largest telco, retrieved 4 September 2018CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "India's Idea Cellular Will Use Nokia's Cloud Core". SDxCentral. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  13. "Vodafone Mini Stores in Mumbai Will Now Facilitate Tata Power Bill Payments via M-Pesa e-wallet - MySmartPrice News". MySmartPrice. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. "Vodafone completes merger with Idea, creates India's largest mobile operator - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  15. Raj, Amrit (21 October 2017). "The shakeup in India's telecom sector". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  16. Parbat, Kalyan; Sengupta, Devina (31 August 2018). "NCLT gives go-ahead to Idea-Vodafone merger". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  17. "Idea approves merger with Vodafone India, to create India's largest telco". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  18. Kurup, Rajesh (20 March 2017). "Idea Cellular board approves merger with Vodafone India; shares tank 9%". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  19. Pan India Telecom Spectrum holding chart 2020 (updated), Only Tech, retrieved 30 October 2019
  20. Idea Cellular 4G Services Now Live in Delhi Via ICR With Vodafone, Telecom Talk, retrieved 15 July 2018
  21. Idea to launch VoLTE in March, inks 4G ICR agreement with Vodafone, ET Telecom, retrieved 15 July 2018
  22. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Haryana - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  23. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in rest of West Bengal - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  24. "Vodafone Idea Successfully Completes Radio Network Consolidation In Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh". Communications Today. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  25. "Vodafone Idea completes network integration in J&K". The Economic Times. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  26. Bureau, Our. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in AP & Telangana". @businessline. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  27. Dua, Priyanka (24 February 2019). "Vodafone Idea radio network integration in Bihar, Jharkhand". https://www.gizbot.com/. Retrieved 13 June 2019. External link in |website= (help)
  28. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea completes radio network consolidation in Punjab - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  29. Dua, Priyanka (24 February 2019). "Vodafone Idea radio network integration in Bihar, Jharkhand". https://www.gizbot.com/. Retrieved 13 June 2019. External link in |website= (help)
  30. "Vodafone Idea Successfully Completes Radio Network Consolidation In Punjab". Communications Today. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  31. India, Press Trust of (28 May 2019). "Vodafone Idea completes network consolidation in Punjab". Business Standard India. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  32. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea deploys 5,000 Massive MIMO, small cells, TDD sites in Mumbai - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  33. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone Idea deploys 5G-ready sites in Delhi NCR - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  34. www.ETTelecom.com. "Vodafone-Idea ups 4G speeds via network up-gradation in many cities - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  35. www.youbroadband.in. "Vodafone-Idea Wholly owned subsidiary You Broadband". youbroadband.in. Retrieved 11 April 2019.

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