Vodafone India will launch 4G services by December, to expand 3G to 16 circles

Vodafone India has confirmed to launch its 4G services by end of the calendar year 2015. The first wave of its 4G roll out will include Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Kochi. Besides, Vodafone India has also decided to launch its own 3G networks in 7 circles - Assam, North East, UP West, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha, to expand the overall 3G footprint to 16 circles across the country. The telecom provider says that the testing of 4G services has commenced successfully. Vodafone claims to be building robust and resilient network architecture with a strong backhaul to support the volumes and need for speed from customers. Vodafone India had acquired additional 4G (LTE) spectrum in 5 circles viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kerala and Karnataka in February 2014 auctions. These circles together contribute close to 50 percent of the total data revenues for Vodafone India. In FY14-15, Vodafone India had rolled out over 23,000 sites, taking its overall network footprint to more than 131,000 sites. Over the last few months, Vodafone India has also taken several steps to modernise its radio network and switching systems. Globally, Vodafone has launched 4G in 18 countries. There are more than 20 million 4G customers across the Group.