Since April, it has added more than 570,000 customers and, since February, more than 690,000. For the April-June 2026 period, the company — which until recently had been working through severe, long-term cash constraints — also reported its first quarter of net customer additions since Idea Cellular and Vodafone India merged in 2018.
The six months from February through July mark a sharp reversal for Vi. During the preceding six months, the carrier lost more than 3.6 million customers.
Even so, the recovery has yet to restore the carrier to its earlier subscriber base. In August 2025, Vi had 203.5 million subscribers, more than its July 2026 total. The company had 130 million 4G and 5G customers as of the first quarter of FY27, but continues to trail larger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in both total subscribers and net additions.
Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Kishore attributed the improvement in part to the company’s network investments. Vodafone Idea has added 15,500 4G sites over the past year and 32,000 over two years, which has improved network quality, customer satisfaction and retention, Kishore said on an earnings call earlier this month.
“This clubbed with 5G wherever we have rolled out, we clearly see a difference in the customer attentiveness over the last year which is improving. This is visible across the circles,” he said.
Vi began rolling out 5G services in Delhi in March 2025 and has since expanded circle by circle. As of June, it had 16,000 5G sites and plans to cover more than 200 cities over the next two quarters.
The company has also introduced differentiated offerings over the past year, including a Spotify partnership for postpaid subscribers and Vi edu+, a digital-learning offering developed with PhysicsWallah in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
But the shift in customer trends came as Vi cleared what Birla called the company’s “biggest overhang”: The adjusted gross revenue, or AGR, issue, which was resolved late last year. Birla described the development as “a decisive turning point” that removed years of uncertainty and allowed the company to move beyond survival.
“Significant progress has been made in addressing legacy challenges, restoring financial flexibility, investing in network infrastructure and rebuilding momentum in the business,” Birla said at the AGM, adding, “The focus now shifts to disciplined execution, operational excellence and translating these investments into sustainable growth and long-term value creation for all stakeholders.”
Kishore has identified customer additions as one of the three key pillars of Vodafone Idea’s Vi 2.0 strategy to revive the business. The latest numbers suggest that strategy is beginning to gain traction.
Queries to Vodafone Idea sent on Friday did not elicit a response until press time.
Analysts remain cautious about declaring a turnaround for the debt-laden carrier.
“This is early evidence of a potential turnaround, but sustainability will be key,” said Siddhant Cally, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research. Broader network indicators, including continued growth in broadband subscribers and data consumption, are “broadly consistent with a more positive growth story for Vi”, he said.
Still, quarterly net additions of 200,000 to 300,000 remain modest, Cally said, adding that they would need to build into more than 2 million quarterly additions over time to demonstrate a meaningful recovery.
Mahesh Uppal, director at telecom consulting firm Com First India, said 5G itself was incidental for most users because Vi was the last of the private carriers to launch the technology. The more important factor was a renewed perception of stability around the company, he said. “Perception would have helped in building confidence in the company’s onward journey not the service per se,” Uppal said. Despite its financial difficulties, Vodafone Idea’s quality-of-service parameters were “always comparable” with market leaders Jio and Airtel, he said, adding, “With the substantive relief it got from the government, there is more confidence in its continued survival and progress.”
He also pointed to the company’s long history in India as a factor supporting customer retention.
For Vi, the more important test will be whether the recent gains broaden and accelerate.
“Continued addition of 4G/5G broadband subscribers will be critical, particularly as Vi’s net additions remain the lowest in percentage terms among the major operators. For now, this is better characterised as stabilisation with early signs of a turnaround, rather than a turnaround that is firmly established,” he added.
