
Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-biggest telecom operator in the country, Tuesday officially confirmed the launch of its 5G services in select circles. Vi joins the 5G race in the country after almost one and a half years since Airtel and Jio started offering 5G services.
“We have successfully rolled out 5G services in accordance with Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) guidelines. A full-scale launch to all users is part of our roadmap, and we will share more details at an appropriate time,” Vi wrote in a post on X.
Vi’s 5G service is only available at select locations and it’s not a broader rollout. It is said to be active in some of the major cities and states, such as Mumbai, West Bengal, Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gujarat, and more.
Vi’s 5G network is based on non-standalone (NSA) technology, where the company has upgraded the existing infrastructure to deliver 5G services, similar to Airtel, as it is more cost-effective when compared to deploying a standalone (SA) 5G network that Jio has deployed. This also means phones like the Redmi A4 5G and the recently introduced Poco C75 5G won’t support Vi’s 5G network, as these devices only support SA 5G.