Vodafone Idea (Vi) is currently the third-largest telecom operator of India. Even though the telco was formed out of a merger only a few years back, it has been a part of the Indian ecosystem for a very long time as Vodafone and Idea individually. Vi’s future in the market has been doubted by many, including the Chairman of Bharti Airtel group, Sunil Bharti Mittal. The telco’s debt mountain and operating costs require a serious cash influx in the short and medium term to keep the company going. Vi provides the best-prepaid offers in the market today. Yes, they are a little expensive; still, none of the operators, including Jio and Airtel, come even close to offering what Vi offers to its users. Despite that, the telco’s been losing most of its subscribers to Airtel and some to Jio. What is the reason behind that? Let’s find out.
Vodafone Idea’s Network Might Be the Reason Why It Is Far Behind Airtel and Jio
Since there is a minimal price differentiation between the offerings from the operators, the subscribers will be attracted to the company providing the best network services. In simple words, the company that provides users with the best quality network will stay ahead of the competition. This is where Vi might be faltering at the moment. It is not like Vi hasn’t got the spectrum resources. The company is increasing its 4G capacity by refarming the 3G spectrum across various circles in a phased manner. This will allow it to provide better network services to its users in the coming time. Vi didn’t purchase a ton of spectrum in the 4G auctions held on March 1 and March 2 because the telco already has an impressive spectrum portfolio. All that it needs is more customers to provide services to.
Vi Provided the Best Download and Upload Speeds in India
Vi won Opensignal’s both the speed (downloading and uploading) awards in its March report by beating Jio and Airtel. Clearly, the telco’s efforts in refarming the spectrum is coming into play. However, Vi wasn’t the best at providing good network coverage throughout the country. This is where Vi can improve right now. The telco should aim to provide coverage in rural and remote parts of the country. Further, even in the highways and train journey’s, Vi should make its network so strong that users prefer consuming its services over any other telco’s services when they are travelling. Also, Vi should work on providing an improved video and gaming experience to the users with its network. Currently, according to Opensignal’s report, Airtel is way ahead of every other telco in providing the best video and gaming experience. These are the few areas Vi can improve upon. Apart from this, it can’t do much in the consumer segment. The telco is also aiming to capitalise by providing services to the enterprise market that seriously need new and cutting-edge digital solutions to scale operations online. Thus, if Vi wants to see a net addition in the number of subscribers, it needs to focus on delivering the best network experience to the users in almost every part of the country. Along with that, the telco needs to be patient and consistent with its services. If Vi can be consistent over the medium-term, it is bound to see a favourable result.
