Vodafone Idea Withdraws from 5G FWA Race

Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest operator, has decided not to enter the 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) market and instead focus on mobile users, according to multiple media outlets citing informed sources.

At this time, FWA is becoming an important 5G scenario for its competitors Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. According to data from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), as of the end of July 2025, Jio FWA had 6.45 million users and Airtel had 2 million. FWA provides broadband wirelessly, allowing for rapid broadcasting in rural and remote areas where fiber optics are difficult to lay and economically unfeasible.

Vodafone Idea’s voluntary absence undoubtedly adds an advantage to both opponents. Deepak Kumar, founder and chief research officer of B&M Nxt Business and Market Consulting, said: “Vodafone Idea’s exit from the FWA track will accelerate the industry’s tilt towards the duopoly of Jio and Airtel, and once again raise questions about its determination to deeply cultivate the Indian market in the long term – after all, FWA diversification could have sent a clear signal. ”

This move may further squeeze its market share and user base. Faced with the continuous growth of Jio and Airtel, Vodafone Idea users have been declining year after year. Missing FWA, the most promising incremental scenario for 5G in India, means it may lose its new customer base.

FWA has become one of the fastest-growing telecommunications segments in India. Although there is no official average unit price per customer (ARPU) data, the industry generally believes that FWA has a higher ARPU than mobile services. Vodafone Idea has abandoned this market, making the road to monetizing 5G even more difficult.

Kumar added, “If you don’t even try, Vodafone Idea may be blocked forever. For a company eager to turn around its losses, this is equivalent to handing over a potential future revenue stream. ”

Behind the refusal to enter the market is the company’s consistently tight financial situation. Vodafone Idea has been seeking investors for many years, but still carries huge debts, limited capital expenditures, and struggles to invest in network modernization and new technologies. In fact, the company only launched 5G this year, while Airtel and Jio were already commercially available as early as 2022.

Kumar said, “It can be said that this decision reflects practical considerations at the financial level, and prioritizing the protection of 4G/5G mobile coverage is a pragmatic move. However, looking at it the other way around, Vodafone Idea can still utilize unlicensed frequency bands for low-cost FWA entry. ”

In addition to financial factors, spectrum bottlenecks may also be one of the concerns. Parag Kar, former Vice President of Government Affairs for Qualcomm India and South Asia, pointed out that Vodafone Idea only holds 50 MHz spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band in most telecommunications circles, which is difficult to support competitive FWA rates.