Vodafone to launch 4G services in Delhi/NCR by December

Vodafone India has announced to launch its 4G services in Delhi/NCR by December 2015. "Key corridors of Delhi/NCR will be part of the first wave of the 4G roll-out, which will be launched across the circle in a phased manner," a company statement said.

The company said it has invested more than Rs 350 crore to modernise and upgrade existing voice and data network and installed more than 550 sites in the last six months.

Vodafone said that the testing of 4G services has commenced successfully.  

Delhi/NCR with around 30 per cent of data revenues is one of the top data markets for Vodafone in India and is growing at around 50 per cent Y-o-Y.

Apoorva Mehrotra, Business Head-Delhi and NCR, Vodafone India, said, "We are one of the leading service provider in Delhi/NCR and our customers have a lot to look forward to. We are excited to launch our new 4G services on the superior 1800 MHz band for our customers. Having launched 4G services in several countries, Vodafone has the requisite expertise and experience to ensure that its service in Delhi/NCR will be best in class. We will continue to pursue our customer centric strategy of continuing to meet their evolving needs for better and smarter connectivity for both voice and data."

The rollout will match the upcoming 4G commercial launch by Reliance Jio.

Bharti Airtel on August 6 announced launch of its 4G mobile phone services to cover nearly 300 towns. The launch came ahead of Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of the cash-rich conglomerate Reliance Industries, starting 4G voice and data services in December.

Vodafone India had successfully acquired additional 4G (LTE) spectrum in 5 circles - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kerala and Karnataka in February 2014 auctions. These circles together contribute close to 50 per cent of the total data revenues for Vodafone India.

Globally, Vodafone has launched 4G in 18 countries. There are over 20 million 4G customers across the group and its 4G propositions are enhanced with a mixture of music, sports and TV content to increase adoption and usage.

In preparation for the India rollout, Vodafone India had in 2014-15 set up a record number of over 23,000 tower sites, taking its overall network footprint to more than 1,31,000 sites.

"Over the last few months, Vodafone India has taken several steps to modernise its radio network and switching systems. Charging platforms have also been upgraded to facilitate a wider bouquet of products and services," the statement said.

Major investments have been made in high-capacity fibre/backhaul to significantly increase the Internet connectivity to the rest of the world.

"Vodafone India remains committed towards making significant investments in network expansion and for enhancing overall customer experience," the statement said.