Vodafone Idea Launches 5G Services in India After Two-Year Delay

After a long wait of two years and a lot of excitement, Vodafone Idea (V!) has finally launched its 5G services in some parts of India. It has been a long time since Vodafone Idea, Airtel, and Jio all took part in the 5G spectrum auction. Airtel and Jio both started giving 5G services in October 2022, so this launch comes after a long wait.

In 17 telecom circles, the rollout has started. This is a big step for the telecom giant. This is just a small start, though, so not many people will be able to use the new 5G network just yet. This move, even though it's not widely available yet, shows that Vodafone Idea is finally catching up in the 5G race. For more than a year, its rivals have been ahead of the pack.

Telecom Talk says that Vodafone Idea has set up 5G on both the 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands, but the service mostly works on the mid-3.5 GHz band. At the moment, 5G service is only available in certain parts of the following towns and regions:

There is a Galaxy Cinema in Jaipur, Rajasthan (Mansarovar Industrial Area, RIICO).
Karnal in Haryana (HSIIDC, Industrial Area, Sector 3)-
Part V of Salt Lake in Kolkata
Kerala: Kakanad and Thirikakada
UP Lucknow in the east (Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar)
UP West: Agra
Indore (Electronic Complex, Pardeshipura) is in Madhya Pradesh.
Gujarat: Ahmedabad (Mond Road, Makarba, and Prahlad Nagar)
The city of Hyderabad is in Andhra Pradesh.
There is one city in West Bengal called Siliguri.
Patna (Anishabad Golambar) in Bihar
Mumbai: Andheri, Worli, and Marol East
Kolkata (Dairy Circle) in Karnataka
A city in Punjab called Jalandhar
Chennai in Tamil Nadu (Perungudi, Nesapakkam)
Pune in Maharashtra (Shivaji Nagar)
Okhla Industrial Area Phase 2, India Gate, and Pragati Maidan are in Delhi.
Vodafone Idea has also started offering 5G services in these places, but not in Bihar. These services use the 2.6 GHz bandwidth band. In other words, some places are fully ready for high-speed internet, while others are still in the process of getting ready.

Vodafone Idea has come up with special refresh plans for people who want to try 5G. The REDX Rs 1101 plan is what regular users need to get 5G services, while the Rs 475 pack is what prepaid users can get. Regular reload plans won't let you connect to the 5G network, so you need these plans.

Vodafone Idea is just getting started with 5G, but users have been looking forward to the company's move into this area for a long time. The telecommunications industry is changing quickly. Jio and Airtel are already the leaders in 5G coverage, so Vodafone Idea's work will likely be closely watched over the next few months. As the network grows to cover more areas, more people will be able to enjoy the fast internet speeds that 5G offers.

But for now, only people in the towns on the list will be able to enjoy this fast internet. Everyone else will have to wait for the network to grow....

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