Vodafone enters 4G fray after Airtel; Reliance lags behind – India’s second-largest mobile operator, Vodafone introduced its high-speed 4G service in Kochi in Kerala on Tuesday, making it the country’s second 4G service provider after market leader Bharti Airtel, which had rolled out its plans in April this year.
The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is likely to roll out its 4G services later this month.
Sunil Sood, MD and CEO, Vodafone, said, “Vodafone’s global expertise and experience of launching 4G across 19 countries gives us a better understanding of this technology and the needs of the 4G customer? we are delighted to launch our ultrafast 4G services in India that will give customers the power to experience the most advanced wireless broadband experience available across the globe today.”
Last week, the Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom operator announced fundings of Rs 60,000 crore over the next three years to significantly upgrade its network capacity and ability to offer voice and high-speed data services.
In November, the Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular, India’s third largest mobile operator, purchased Videocon’s spectrum in two circles for Rs 3,310 crore. It has plans to finance Rs 18,000 crore more for its 4G rollout in the first half of 2016 as per industry estimates.
A recent Fitch Ratings report said the 2016 credit profiles of the top four Indian telcos would face pressure amidst tough competition, larger capex requirements, and debt-funded mergers and acquisitions.