India’s third-largest telecom operator, Vodafone Idea, announced its intention to borrow INR 230 billion ($2.75 billion) in term loans and sought an additional INR 100 billion in bank guarantees, according to a report by The Economic Times.
With this funding, the telco aims to be in a better position to compete with rival operator Bharti Airtl and Reliance Jio Infocomm by enhancing its 4G coverage and deploying 5G.
Both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have already deployed pan-India 5G networks.
Vodafone Idea emphasized that while 5G rollout was important, its key priority was to expand and strengthen its current 4G coverage.
