Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced that the next phase of its 5G rollout in India will extend to 23 more cities in the country.

The carrier, which only launched 5G in March following several delays, said yesterday (June 30) that the next phase of its 5G deployment is already underway.

Vi confirmed the next phase will deliver 5G to Ahmedabad, Agra, Aurangabad, Kozhikode, Cochin, Dehradun, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Malappuram, Meerut, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune, Rajkot, Sonepat, Surat, Siliguri, Trivandrum, Vadodara, and Vizag.

“Our 5G rollout is progressing steadily in a phased manner, and we’re excited to bring next-gen connectivity to more users. At the same time, we’re strengthening our 4G network to ensure a seamless experience for our users," said Jagbir Singh, chief technology officer, Vodafone Idea.

Vi kicked off its 5G launch in Mumbai in March and has also launched the service in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Patna.

The telco's announcement comes after reports last week that the Indian government, the largest shareholder in Vi, is considering a number of options to support Vi, amid its ongoing financial struggles.

Vi's financial challenges have heavily impacted the company's 5G rollout, which came two-and-a-half years behind schedule. For context, rival domestic telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel launched their 5G networks in October 2022.

The company, which was created in 2018 following the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, has been struggling to pay its dues to its vendor partners after it was saved from the brink of collapse by the Indian government three years ago.

Vi also provided an update on its 4G rollout this week, noting that it has deployed the 900 MHz band across 65,000 sites across the country, while it has added more than 56,000 sites on the 1,800-2,100 MHz/TDD bands.