Vodafone Idea has confirmed it plans to light up 5G in 90 more Indian cities before May 2026. That’s a meaningful number, but context matters — and right now, Vi is still chasing a race it fell behind in.
The company has been moving carefully. After years of financial strain, regulatory pressure, and watching Jio and Airtel sprint ahead on 5G deployments, Vi has had to pick its spots. Its current 5G footprint is modest compared to its rivals. The 90-city expansion, if it lands on schedule, would change that picture considerably.
What cities make the cut will matter as much as the number itself. Vi hasn’t released a full list, and that’s where things get interesting. Tier-2 cities are the real test. Jio and Airtel already have Tier-1 metros fairly well covered. If Vi goes deep into mid-sized cities — the Jodhpurs, the Kochis, the Indores — it could carve out a distinct position rather than just playing catch-up.
There’s a financial story here too, and it’s not entirely comfortable. Vi secured government support and raised funds through equity infusion, which kept it alive long enough to make bets like this one. But it’s still burning cash faster than it generates it. The 5G expansion isn’t optional — without it, enterprise clients and high-end subscribers keep drifting toward Airtel. With it, at least Vi is in the room.
May 2026 is close. Not punishingly tight, but close enough that execution has to be clean. Tower infrastructure, spectrum utilization, and handset compatibility all have to line up. Vi has the spectrum — it acquired 5G bands in the 2022 auctions — but spectrum is just the starting point.
The honest read: this is a credible plan, not a guaranteed win. If Vi hits 90 cities by May, it re-enters the conversation as a real 5G player. If it slips or the rollout is patchy, the narrative sticks — that Vi is perpetually a lap behind.
Watch the enterprise angle. 5G in India’s consumer market is still largely theoretical for most users. The real use cases — private networks, manufacturing automation, logistics — are where carriers actually justify the infrastructure spend. Whether Vi has the sales muscle and partnerships to convert a wider footprint into business contracts is the question that matters most in the next 18 months.
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