Vodafone Idea posts first subscriber growth since merger as 5G rollout gathers pace

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 11 August 2026; 1442 views

Vodafone Idea (Vi) recorded its first quarter of net subscriber additions since its merger, while reporting stronger revenue, EBITDA and ARPU growth as the Indian operator continues to expand its 4G and 5G networks.

The operator’s customer base rose to 193.1 million in Q1 FY27, up from 192.8 million in the previous quarter. Vi said this was its first quarter of positive net subscriber additions since the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in 2018.

Revenue increased 6% year-on-year to INR 116.89 billion ($1.35 billion), while EBITDA rose 9.1% to INR 50.34 billion. The EBITDA margin remained at 43.1%, up 122 basis points year-on-year.

Customer ARPU increased 10.2% to INR 195, which Vi said was the highest growth among India’s major operators, supported primarily by customers upgrading to higher-value plans.

The company’s 4G and 5G subscriber base also continued to expand, reaching 130.1 million compared with 127.4 million a year earlier. Data usage increased 27.9% year-on-year to 88.4 petabytes per day.

The results come as Vi continues to work through a heavily indebted balance sheet that has constrained its ability to invest in its network. The operator has accumulated substantial debt following years of financial pressure in India’s highly competitive telecom market, including obligations arising from adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and spectrum payments to the government.

The company has been reliant on fundraising, including equity and debt arrangements, to support its network investment and meet its financial commitments. Vi said it has so far secured INR 64 billion in funding, including proceeds from warrants and fund and non-fund based facilities, while discussions with lenders over its broader funding plan remain ongoing.

Despite those pressures, Vi is stepping up network investment. It said it has already placed INR 90 billion in capex orders with Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and other partners, against a three-year capex guidance of INR 450 billion.

The operator expanded its 5G network to more than 200 cities across the 17 telecom circles where it holds 5G spectrum. Its 4G population coverage reached 87% at the end of June, up from 39.4 million additional people brought under 4G coverage since Q1 FY26.

Vi added more than 15,600 unique broadband towers over the past year, taking its total to almost 205,000. It expects 4G population coverage across its 17 5G circles to exceed 95% following its planned investments.

“FY27 is the year of execution for us,” said Abhijit Kishore, CEO of Vodafone Idea. “Our robust Q1FY27 performance is a strong validation of our defined strategy and disciplined execution.”

Kishore said the company had delivered improvements across its key business metrics, including its first quarter of subscriber additions since the merger, while its 5G network had reached more than 200 cities.

Vi's reported net loss stood at INR 37.54 billion for the quarter, compared with a net loss of INR 66.08 billion in Q1 FY26. The previous quarter's reported profit of INR 519.7 billion was distorted by a one-off exceptional item and is therefore not directly comparable.

The operator also highlighted improved access to financing. Crisil assigned Vi an A-/Stable rating in May, while ICRA upgraded its rating to A-/Stable in June for certain long-term bank facilities.

Vi's network expansion comes as it seeks to narrow the gap with market leaders Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, both of which have significantly greater financial resources to fund nationwide 5G deployments.

Vi said it remains engaged with lenders to finalise its overall funding plan, while continuing to focus on network expansion and what it described as an AI-led transformation of the business.