Ending the speculations about the two prominent brands’ business strategies over the last few weeks, Vodafone & Idea, have announced the launch of its new brand – Vi (read as we), which will finally bring the two brands under one identity, two years after their merger.
After the merger in August 2018, both Idea and Vodafone have been continuing on their independent brand pursuits. While Idea focused on its robust rural user base, Vodafone has been exploring more on the urban segment.

India has around 450 million active mobile users in the country. Vodafone Idea possesses 27.57 percent wireless market share, residing at the third position compared to Bharati Airtel’s 28.31 share and Reliance Jio’s 33.47 percent share. Idea and Vodafone have 54.05 percent of their phone customers in Rural India followed by Vodafone, which has its 53.59 users across the rural India.

However, the merger hadn’t been as influential as it proclaimed to be. Vodafone’s user base was dropped from 408 million in 2018 to around 280 million during the two years of its merger with Idea. The company is hoping to transform its luck in the market with the fresh approach.

“It is a time for a fresh start as Vodafone India and Idea Cellular complete the integration of the two entities and rebrand the unified company as Vi. With the integration of its 2G, 3G and 4G network, the unified brand is committed to provide a superior network experience and better customer services,” said Nick Read, CEO, Vodafone group.

Vodafone Idea is on course to pay AGR-related dues of around Rs 50,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Last week, the SC had asked telecom companies to pay 10 percent of the balance AGR dues by March 31, 2021, and granted 10 years to pay the full dues. A reported by Mint last week, to tackle the predicament, the board of Vodafone Idea has approved fundraising up to Rs 25,000 crore, wherein they see Amazon and Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the US, as potential investors.