Vodafone Idea acquires 3300 MHz band spectrum in 17 priority circles

Vodafone Idea Limited has acquired mid-band 5G spectrum (3300 MHz bands) in 17 priority circles and mmWave 5G spectrum (26 GHz band) in 16 circles enabling it to offer a superior 5G experience to its customers as well as strengthen its enterprise offerings and provide new opportunities for business growth in the 5G era.

The telco has also acquired an additional 4G spectrum in 3 telecom circles, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Punjab, to improve its customer experience. The additional spectrum acquisition will help the company to strengthen its position in its key markets and aligns well with its long-term strategic intent.

“With this, we now have a solid portfolio of spectrum across all bands in all our priority circles. We also have the advantage of leveraging the global experience of Vodafone Group which has proven expertise in deploying 5G in many markets. We will continue to invest in our future-ready network to upgrade it for roll out of 5G services to our customers in future,”

The telco said in a statement.

26 GHz Band

VIL has acquired 5350 MHz spectrum pan-India in the 26 GHz bands. The telco has picked up spectrum in 200 MHz, 450 MHz, 400 MHz, 800 MHz, 350 MHz, 250 MHz, and 350 MHz chinks across telecom circles. It has acquired 200 MHz spectrum each in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kolkata, and Mumbai telecom circles.

In Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, the telco has acquired 400 MHz spectrum each. In Gujarat, it has acquired 450 MHz spectrum. In Kerala, it has acquired 800 MHz spectrum. In Uttar Pradesh (West) it has acquired 350 MHz spectrum. In Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, the telco has acquired 300 MHz spectrum each.

3300 MHz Band

VIL has acquired 850 MHz spectrum pan-India in the 3300 MHz bands. The telco has picked up a 50 MHz spectrum each in its 17 priority circles. These include telecom circles other than Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, North East, and Orissa.

Additional Spectrum

The telco strengthened its 1800 MHz spectrum holding with the acquisition of 3.4 MHz spectrum in Andhra Pradesh. VIL’s total spectrum holdings in the 1800 MHz band now stand at 351.4 MHz, of which 8.8 MHz spectrum is non-liberalised.

In the 2100 MHz band, VIL picked up 5 MHz spectrum in Karnataka, increasing its spectrum holdings in the band to 200 MHz across India. Lastly, in the 2500 MHz band, VIL picked 10 MHz spectrum each in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, increasing its spectrum holdings in the band to 390 MHz across India.

Note: For details about the complete spectrum footprint of all operators across all bands in the 22 telecom circles, refer to our exclusive Pan India Spectrum Holding Chart 2022