Vodafone Idea and Motorola announce 5G partnership in India
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has partnered with Motorola to bring 5G technology to the OEM's smartphone lineup in India. Surprisingly, Vi is yet to announce its 5G network rollout plans in India. However, as per the news, the latest fifth-generation handsets from Motorola have been successfully tested using Vi's 5G spectrum. We may hear about Vi's 5G rollout in the coming weeks.
Why does this story matter?
Vodafone Idea (Vi) was one of the telecom companies that bid on the 5G spectrum in India, spending nearly Rs. 18,799 crore. However, we haven't seen the telco releasing 5G in any parts of India yet. Vi's partnership with Motorola ensures that the smartphone maker's offerings will be ready for 5G when Vi decides to launch its high-speed internet services in India.
Test was conducted using 5G spectrum bands 3350MHz to 3400MHz
With the aim to provide 5G connectivity across its 5th-generation smartphones, Motorola has tested its well-received smartphone models on Vi's 5G network spectrum bands ranging from 3350MHz to 3400MHz. The test included devices such as Edge 30 Ultra, Edge 30 Fusion, Edge 30 Pro, standard Edge 30, G62 5G, G82 5G, G71 5G, G51 5G, Edge 20, Edge 20 Pro, and Edge 20 Fusion.
Central Government has recently acquired Vi's 33% stake
Vi's plan to bring 5G technology to Motorola comes just days after the Centre Government approved the conversion of Rs. 16,000 crore of accumulated interest dues into equity, giving Vodafone Idea a much-needed boost. Following that, the government purchased a 33% stake, becoming a shareholder in the telecom joint venture formed between UK's Vodafone and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Aditya Birla Group.
Vi's 5G rollout doesn't have a specific timeline yet
The Vi-Motorola partnership conducted the 5G test in New Delhi. Akshaya Moondra, Chief Financial Officer at Vodafone-Idea Limited, stated that "Vi 5G would transform customer experience and enhance business performance;" however, he did not provide any specific timeline about the telco's public rollout of its 5G services. Meanwhile, rivals like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, are aggressively deploying their 5G services across the country.
5G was introduced in India last year in October
After the 5G spectrum auctions concluded in August 2022, the fifth-generation services were launched in India on October 1, 2022. At present, only two of India's three largest telecom companies offer 5G services. Airtel is using non-standalone access (NSA) 5G architecture. However, Jio is rolling out 5G using the standalone access (SA) technology. No info is available on Vi's fifth-generation service rollout yet.
