Indian telco Vodafone Idea announced that it has expanded its 5G service to the metropolitan region of Chandigarh in Punjab and Patna in Bihar, just an month after debuting the service in Mumbai.
Vodafone Idea said 5G coverage in Chandigarh includes the cities of Mohali, Kharar and Zirakpur, with introductory service packages starting from INR299 (US$3.50), the same as in Mumbai. The telco added it will continue to roll out 5G in the rest of Punjab.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea said it plans to expand its 5G service further to Delhi and Bengaluru sometime next month.
Vodafone Idea had a late start to India’s 5G race, launching its service in Mumbai last month, well over a year after rival telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel completed their initial 5G rollouts.
However, Vodafone Idea said that over 70% of eligible users in Mumbai are already using its service, contributing up to 20% of total network data traffic.
“The positive feedback and robust network performance have strengthened our resolve to expand our 5G footprint,” said Rahul Joshi, Vodafone Idea’s cluster business head for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and J&K in a statement.
Earlier this month, Vodafone Idea also expanded its 5G service to cover 11 cricket stadiums in India to coincide with the ongoing Indian Premier League, the country's flagship T20 competition.
