Post the 5G spectrum auction, all eyes turned to the three main telecom players --- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and VodafoneIdea --- in the fray and their plans for the rollout of the new service.
As it happens, both Airtel and Jio have been off the blocks fast, saying that the they are ready to launch 5G services in August itself. Airtel has tied up with a clutch of big telecom equipment manufacturers to provide better 5G service. Jio is, of course, no slouch, and it is also girding up its loins for the 5G battle.
But what of VodafoneIdea (Vi), the third competitor in the race? The financially struggling company got the mid band 5G spectrum (3300 MHz band) in 17 priority circles and mmWave 5G spectrum (26 GHz band) in 16 circles for Rs 18,799 crore. Both the media and market analysts were looking for some announcement from Vi on its plans for the 5G rollout.
As it happens, the company has put out a statement in which it talks about its, well, 4G prowess.
Can Vi battle it out in the 5G arena?
In a statement today, Vi said it is "the fastest 4G network in India, as per the ‘India Mobile Network Experience Report – April 2022’, by Opensignal, the independent global standard in analyzing consumer mobile experience."
Vi said Opensignal assessed the 4G network experience of mobile phone users in India over a period of 90 days between December 1 2021 and February 28 2022. The report analysed data speed and experience across cities in 22 telecom circles.
Hardik Khatri, Technical Analyst, Opensignal, was quoted as saying: "Our users on Vi's network, on average, had the fastest download speeds of 13.6 Mbps and fastest upload speeds of 4.9 Mbps."
Vi is said to be ranked number one in download speeds across 10 markets – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East & West), Kolkata, West Bengal, Assam and North East.
Vi also took the top position in upload speeds across 14 markets – Gujarat, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East & West), Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir.
Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer, Vi said "the latest validation from Opensignal is an endorsement of our efforts to constantly work towards enhancing customer experience through superior network performance."
It is all fine and right to claim the bragging rights on the 4G arena. But when the fight shifts to the 5G stadium, is Vi ready? Has it prepared itself for the most intense battle, which is expected to disrupt the Indian telecom industry? Well, your guess is as good as ours.
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