According to a senior official from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), the company is likely to secure funding by June and will also launch its 5G network in the same month.
Vodafone Idea (Vi), India’s third largest telecom company, is reportedly preparing to launch its 5G network. The New Indian Express reported that the telecom operator is working with banks to secure funding and that negotiations are said to be in the final stages.
A senior Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official said the company will secure funding by June and will also launch its 5G network in the same month. The company has already paid the license fee for the third quarter and has made a partial payment for the fourth quarter as well. The official also said Vi’s entry into the 5G space would prevent duplication, which would be good for consumers. According to another report, Finland’s Nokia is already in talks to supply 5G network equipment to Airtel and Jio supplier Vi.
Both Jio and Airtel now offer his 5G networks in all major cities in the country. Jio offers standalone 5G technology (SA), while Airtel has opted for non-standalone 5G technology (NSA). It’s unclear at this time if Vodafone Idea will choose SA or the NSA-backed 5G technology.
SA has undoubtedly a competitive advantage over NSA’s 5G technology due to its lower latency and faster download and upload speeds, but NSA is easier to implement and can leverage existing 4G network hardware. Since it can be used, the introduction cost can be reduced compared to SA.