Vodafone Idea intends to deploy the proceeds toward upgrading its network infrastructure and narrowing the operational gap with rivals Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
Under the terms established by the lending syndicate, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla must remain chairman for the full duration of the roughly 10-year loan facility. The package also incorporates default repayment guarantees, the report added.
The funding commitment comes on the heels of improved quarterly financial metrics for the telecom provider. Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) reported revenue of ₹11,689 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026, marking a 6.0% year-on-year increase. The performance was supported by industry-leading growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) and the company’s first quarter of positive net subscriber additions since its merger.
Net loss for Q1 FY27 narrowed to ₹3,754 crore, compared to a loss of ₹6,608 crore recorded in Q1 FY26. Consolidated EBITDA reached ₹5,034 crore, reflecting a 9.1% year-on-year gain. Sequential additions to the customer base alongside ongoing migrations to high-speed broadband services underpinned the operational result.
Total subscribers increased to 193.1 million from 192.8 million in the preceding quarter. More than 67% of the total base is currently on 4G/5G services, taking total 4G/5G subscribers to 130.1 million. Excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, customer ARPU rose 10.2% year-on-year to ₹195, up from ₹177 in Q1 FY26. Average data consumption among 4G/5G users grew to 21.7 GB per month, driving daily total network data traffic to 88.4 Pb/Day.
Infrastructure rollouts saw 4G population coverage widen to 87.0%, adding 39.4 million people to the coverage footprint since Q1 FY26. The network footprint grew to nearly 580,900 broadband sites and 204,893 unique broadband towers, while 5G services expanded to over 200 cities across 17 priority circles. Capital expenditure for the quarter stood at ₹1,930 crore. The operator has placed ₹9,000 crore in equipment orders to date against its three-year capex target of ₹45,000 crore.
