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Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026

 

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--Vodafone Idea: Remain engaged with lenders to fund INR-450-bln capex plan 
--CONTEXT: Comments by Vodafone Idea mgmt in post-earnings analyst concall 
--Vodafone Idea: Expect to maintain current ARPU growth momentum ahead 
--Vodafone Idea: Plan to cover 5G in 200-plus cities over next two quarters 
--Vodafone Idea: Prepaid subscriber additions stong focus area for co 
--Vodafone Idea: Both machine-to-machine, postpaid stable businesses for co 
--Vodafone Idea: Not seeing any dip in postpaid business 
--Vodafone Idea: Besides existing pact, no new tower sharing plan with BSNL 
--Vodafone Idea: Smartphone versus 2G customer ratio at 66:34 currently 
--Vodafone Idea: Aim to complete 4G rollout over 18 months across 17 circles 
 

 

By Shakshi Jain and Gunjan Rajput

 

NEW DELHI – Vodafone Idea Ltd. expects to maintain the current growth momentum seen in average revenue per user going forward, a top company executive told analysts in a post-earnings conference call Tuesday. "We expect to keep the same momentum. This is obviously organic ARPU growth which is where we have a differentiated opportunity between the mix of customers, between a 2G and a 4G, 5G, as well as unlimited voice and unlimited data customers and then between the unlimited data and the non-stop hero which is a differentiated thing for us," the executive said.

 

Currently, the ratio of fourth- and fifth-generation network subscribers versus second-generation network customers stands at 66:34, according to the company, which likely gives the company this confidence. "Between the mix of our customers who are on the smartphone, there is a significant amount of customers who are using data and we still have an opportunity to have a smartphone but are using us for voice. Probably in those areas, we have not reached on the 4G data. So, that's another big cohort of opportunity that we have," the company said.

 

Vodafone Idea's customer ARPU for the June quarter, excluding machine-to-machine services, rose nearly 3% sequentially and over 10% on year to INR 195. The on-year growth in ARPU was the highest in the industry and was primarily supported by customer upgrades, the company said in a post-earnings press release. The company's blended ARPU for the quarter rose nearly 2% sequentially and more than 7% on year to INR 177.

 

Analysts had widely expected sequential growth in the telecommunications player's ARPU for the June quarter on the back of customer migration to higher-generation networks and an extra day in the quarter. However, the growth reported in the metric was comfortably above expectations.  

 

Machine-to-machine and postpaid businesses remain stable for the company, while prepaid subscriber addition remains a strong focus area, according to the company. It ruled out any dip in the postpaid business due to rival Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s new offering Postpaid Fast Lane, India's first commercial 5G network slicing service for retail postpaid users.

 

Vodafone Idea aims to complete its 4G rollout target over the next 18 months and cover 5G in over 200 cities over the next two quarters. "So that we are at par on what our target is in the 17 circles. The 5G, as I said, because you need a little bit of a fibre, so that might get into the third year of execution as well," the company said.

 

Vodafone Idea has charted a turnaround plan involving capital expenditure of INR 450 billion over three years, starting 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). "...In the three-year guidance, I have said roughly around 55,000-57,000 sites on 4G and 86,000-90,000 sites on 5G. So, we are on the trend," a top company executive said.

 

Providing a much-awaited update on funding for the turnaround plan, the company said it remains meaningfully engaged with lenders and has made substantial progress with them. "This architecture is built on three cohorts. First is a consortium of public sector banks led by SBI with six to seven participating banks. Second cohort is of the Indian private banks, and the third one is of the ECB (external commercial borrowing) with foreign banks," Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Kishore explained.

 

Answering a query on infrastructure sharing with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., the chief executive said Vodafone Idea has an existing pact with the company. "...We already have...some relationship with BSNL. We do the tower sharing with BSNL. That's the one that we are doing right now. Other than that, there is no other tower sharing as we speak."

 

This follows recent media reports suggesting discussions are underway to further increase Vodafone Idea's tenancy on BSNL's tower infrastructure for 4G and 5G services.

 

On Tuesday, shares of Vodafone Idea ended at INR 12.89 on the National Stock exchange, down 0.2% from Monday.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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