VI 5G Arriving Soon In India – Launch Date, Plans, Download Speed, Trials, And More

Vodafone Idea (Vi), the telecom company, is soon expected to start implementing Vi 5G service in India following the recently concluded 5G spectrum auction. And as we wait for the official rollout date, Vi has already started preparing its clients, giving us hope that it will occur quickly.

We’ve already covered Jio and Airtel’s 5G rollouts. Now, in today’s topic, we’ll go over Vi 5G’s launch in India. We have compiled all of the documents for you, including the Vi 5G trials, launch, 5G bands, download speeds, plans, and more. With that in mind, let’s learn more about Vi 5G’s progress in India and the expected debut date for its 5G network.

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Vi 5G Trials

Vi has been hard at work performing experiments and demonstrating the possibilities of its technology on the government-allocated spectrum to be 5G ready as quickly as possible. Vi tested several internet use cases in the healthcare, education, smart agriculture, and even cloud gaming industries using Ericsson’s 5G technology at one of its testing sites, Pune.

Vi has announced that during its 5G trials in Pune, it achieved a top speed of 5.92Gbps. The tests were carried out by the operator utilizing Ericsson equipment and government-allocated 5G airwaves. However, the record 5G speed was achieved on a single test device. As a result, as more devices join the network, the speed is likely to fluctuate.

Vi also showcased network slicing utilising Nokia’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G core, which is a technology that allows service providers to split a network into several streams for particular use cases, enabling them to serve the internet at noticeably higher speeds with minimal latency.

Vi has collaborated with US-based telecom equipment company Ciena. Vi said that they will be able to offer clients across India the greatest connection possible while still being economical and environmentally friendly.

The telco has deployed Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical platforms, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme, for high-speed 300G/400G services that can be extended to 800G. Furthermore, Vi is collaborating with area companies such as Vizzbee Robotics Solution and Tweek Labs to perform trials for 5G-based solutions for motion capture systems and aerial traffic management.

Vi 5G Arriving Soon: All You Need to Know

The Delhi-NCR region’s consumers of Vodafone Idea, also known as Vi, have begun receiving notifications telling them that a 5G upgrade will soon be available to them. They will have quicker and more dependable access to the internet thanks to Vi’s 5G services.

Previously, it was anticipated that 5G will roll out in October and begin operating in August (Airtel and Jio both stated so). According to a recent source, PM Narendra Modi would introduce 5G at the next Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) conference on September 29.

Vi 5G

Vi 5G Spectrum

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has purchased 6.2GHz of spectrum for Rs 18,799 crore in India’s first 5G spectrum auction. This is the smallest amount of money any telecom has ever spent on the spectrum. Having said that, Vi only purchased two frequency bands for 5G, 3300MHz and 26GHz, while the others are 4G airwaves at 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2500MHz.

Vi has purchased 50MHz in the 3300MHz frequency band for 17 circles, as well as 5G airwaves ranging from 200 to 800MHz in the top-tier 26GHz frequency band for 16 critical circles. For the uninitiated, Vi was assigned a frequency of 26 GHz in the mm-Wave spectrum. This enabled the telecom to reach a peak speed of 4.2 Gbps.

Vi 5G launch date in India

The date of the Vi 5G introduction in India is yet unknown. The telecom may start the deployment a few months after the 5G spectrum auction, though, if the claims from the industry are to be believed.

Accordingly, the commercial launch of Vi 5G services in India might happen between September and October. Despite this, the Airtel 5G debut is anticipated for later this month. On the other hand, Jio has declared that it will be the nation’s first telecom to introduce 5G services.

Vi 5G Supported Cities

According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the 5G deployment will begin in 2022 in 13 cities throughout the country, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.

In Gurugram, I received a similar message. While I am not certain which cities would receive 5G services, the preliminary list includes Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Jamnagar, and Kolkata.

Vi 5G plans

According to Charu Paliwal, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, 5G plans may not initially be considerably more expensive than the prevailing rates for 4G. In Vi’s opinion, its 5G plans won’t be cheaper than those of its competitors, including Jio and Airtel. This is because Vi’s plans are the most expensive of the lot according to the existing 4G prices, and this might continue with its 5G plans.

Vi 5G Sim

Vi 5G SIM

Vi 5G SIMs are not yet available on the market and will not be till the country’s official 5G debut. Furthermore, in countries where 5G has already been announced, the service is available on all 4G LTE SIMs, so there is no need to switch to a 5G SIM to enjoy its benefits once it is released. To utilize 5G, you must have a compatible smartphone and a current Vi 5G plan.

Vi 5G Download Speed

Update: Vi (Vodafone Idea) supposedly achieved a peak speed of 5.92Gbps during its most recent 5G trials in Pune. The carrier says that it used Ericsson’s brand-new radio dual-connectivity (NR-DC) software to accomplish the speed. This Vi 5G speed is substantially quicker than those of Airtel and Jio.

Vi has been conducting covert 5G experiments over the past few months in various regions of the nation utilizing the spectrums provided by the DoT. Vi claimed to have achieved a peak data throughput of 3.7 Gbps on the mmWave spectrum during a trial test performed in Pune. Vi was able to achieve speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps in a simulated 5G network while conducting tests in Gandhinagar utilizing the 3.5 GHz frequency.

Although these claimed speeds are significantly faster than 4G, keep in mind that actual speeds may vary when 5G services are made available to end users. This is because once people begin using the 5G network, bandwidth must be distributed among hundreds of people, which may result in a drop in speeds. However, in most circumstances, 5G speeds will outperform 4G speeds and provide a significantly better internet browsing experience.

Final Words

At the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the firm on Monday, Managing Director and CEO Ravinder Takker stated that the introduction of Vi’s 5G service will be based on variables such as use cases, customer demand, competition, and more. However, the 5G proposal is said to have increased the company’s yearly instalment burden by Rs. 1,680 crores.

It’s preferable to wait until this has received official confirmation, which is still pending. On this, we’ll keep you informed. So, stay tuned. Additionally, share this article with others. Please leave a remark if you have any questions.