Vodafone Idea 5G: The debt-ridden telecom company is all set to launch its 5G network in March with competitive pricing, making things tough for Bharti Airtel and Jio
Vodafone Idea Share Price: The telecom company has long been stuck in a tough space. With the dominance of major industry giants like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio on one side and the bulging debt levels on the other, Vodafone Idea has struggled to increase its user base.
The third largest telecom company lost nearly 5 million subscribers in Q2FY25 (sequentially). However, Vodafone Idea is now planning to bet on a competitive pricing strategy to recover its user base.
As per a report by the Economic Times, Vodafone Idea is all set to launch its 5G mobile broadband service in March, but with better pricing plans to target the customer base of other telecom giants.
It is worth mentioning that major companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have already launched their 5G services and a better pricing strategy by a rival company might pull down their 5G user base.
This was quite visible earlier when almost every telecom major implemented a tariff hike. This rise in pricing levels eventually resulted in a joint user base loss of 2.6 crore of the top three telecom firms (Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vi). At that time Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was the only company that witnessed a rise in its customer base as the PSU did not increase its tariff levels.
The telecom company is expected to launch its 5G services in around 75 key cities within its 17 priority circles. As per the report, Vodafone Idea will also focus on industrial hubs that are known for high data consumption.
The entry-level plans could be priced up to 15 per cent lower than Jio and Airtel's current offerings. This sharp discount could ignite a price war in the telecom space, as Jio and Bharti Airtel customers might switch to Vodafone for lower prices. As of last year September, both the telecom giants had a collective 5G user base of around 253 million.
Last year, Vodafone Idea's shares experienced a major downtrend as the stock price plummeted by over 50 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.