Nokia to deploy 3,300 sites for Vi’s 4G network expansion by March'25

Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia said on Wednesday, it will deploy nearly 3,300 new sites by March 2025 for the expansion of Vodafone Idea Limited's (VIL) 4G network in nine key circles with its latest baseband and radio equipment to enhance VIL's network reach and capacity. This expansion also includes significant upgrades to over 42,000 technology sites and spectrum expansion on more than 25,000 sites.

By incorporating the latest Baseband and Radio modules, Nokia aims to boost network speed and efficiency for millions of VIL customers. To date, the project has achieved 100% of the planned spectrum expansion, nearly 40% of technology upgrades, and 15% of new site deployments.

This extensive infrastructure overhaul will enable VIL to grow its coverage into rural and underserved areas. Jagbir Singh, chief technology officer of Vodafone Idea, stated that the company aims to reach an additional 20 million users by March 2025. He praised Nokia as a key long-term partner, noting, "We are working closely with Nokia to expand our 4G network coverage to 20 million additional people by March 2025, which will also enhance 4G network capacity by 25%, improving customer experience in nine of our 17 priority circles."

To address the increasing data demands, Nokia is deploying ultra-lean sites to enhance hotspot coverage in high-demand urban areas, optimizing performance in densely populated locations, it said in a statement

This expansion underscores VIL's commitment to meeting the growing demand for mobile data while preparing for future 5G integration. Tarun Chhabra, senior vice president and country head of Nokia India, highlighted the strategic importance of the partnership, stating, "As a long-standing strategic partner of Vi, we are proud to support their LTE network expansion and modernization across Nokia-supplied circles. This upgrade will enhance mobile experiences for millions of Vi customers while laying the foundation for a seamless transition to 5G technology."

In a related development, Nokia teamed up with Dixon India to launch the manufacturing of fixed broadband devices in India. The collaboration will focus on producing GPON, 5G FWA, and Mesh Wi-Fi devices, all capable of delivering up to one gigabit per second per home, Nokia said in a statement.

Dixon Electro has set up a dedicated manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 10 million devices. The new facility is expected to generate approximately 3,000 jobs, contributing to local economic growth. According to the partnership, Nokia's R&D Center in Chennai will lead the design and development of the devices, while Dixon Electro will manage large-scale manufacturing.

Meanwhile, in October, Vi said that is set to launch its commercial 5G services in March 2025, a move that will further intensify competition in the mobile services sector and fuel a new wave of digital infrastructure investments. 

India’s mobile market leaders, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, launched their 5G services in late 2022 and invested tens of billions of dollars in their networks to speedily build out national 5G coverage: Jio has about 148 million 5G customers while Airtel has more than 90 million though, as we reported yesterday, monetising 5G in a market with low average revenue per user (ARPU) levels is proving a challenge