Vodafone Idea Collaborates With Ericsson
India’s third-largest carrier Vodafone Idea and Swedish telecom network equipment supplier Ericsson have strengthened their collaboration to upgrade the carrier's postpaid services and enhance the telco’s future networks.
In a statement released on Monday, the companies announced that Ericsson will implement cloud-native 'Ericsson Charging' to enhance and broaden its postpaid subscriber segment and "provide innovative postpaid options".
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Vi plans to expand its higher-paying postpaid clientele. In its broader Rs 45,000-crore capital expenditure initiative aimed at enhancing network coverage and minimizing customer attrition.
The operator will utilize Ericsson’s technology to bolster its network presence by implementing and integrating new network locations, increasing capacity, and expanding coverage. The companies did not reveal the financial specifics of the collaboration.
These initiatives will result in better indoor coverage, increased data capacity, and assist Vi in its continuous efforts to expand 5G and 4G connectivity.
The announcement regarding the intensified partnership indicated that, starting in 2024, Ericsson has implemented new 5G and 4G sites, added layers to current sites, and installed high-performance small-cell towers across 10 regions.
“Vodafone Idea has broadened its strategic alliance with Ericsson to enhance its postpaid services and aid its continuous network growth throughout the nation,” it stated.
The agreement broadens Ericsson’s current presence in Vi’s prepaid customer sector to also encompass the postpaid market, positioning the telecom equipment firm as a key pan-India provider of online charging solutions for both prepaid and postpaid users.
“The updated agreement also enables Vi to utilize a range of new Ericsson Telco IT AI Apps, providing enhanced control and flexibility over its charging platform while ensuring the delivery of dependable, efficient, and future-ready services to its subscribers,” the statement noted. The telecom will utilize AI applications, such as anomaly detection for billing, order dropout detection and prediction, capacity forecasting for the telecom cloud infrastructure, and smart usage analysis for billing to improve service quality, enhance customer satisfaction, and boost efficiency.
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Vi will upgrade outdated offline charging and rating systems with Ericsson’s Convergent Charging System. This will facilitate immediate charging for voice, VoLTE, SMS, and data services for both consumer and enterprise sectors.
The new system is created to enhance scalability, lower operational expenses, and enable Vi to introduce new services more quickly, while also getting the network ready for 5G Standalone.
Andres Vicente, the CEO of Ericsson for Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, expressed satisfaction with the increased partnership to implement Ericsson Charging to update Vi's postpaid rating and charging processes from offline to real-time.
According to Vicente, the AI powered solution that is scalable will assist Vi in modernizing their operations and speeding up the implementation of next-generation services.
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Since 2024, Ericsson has installed new 5G and 4G sites for Vi, enhanced existing sites, and introduced High-Performance Small Cell towers in 10 areas. The upcoming stage will involve additional deployments at various locations, increasing capacity, and expanding coverage to enhance indoor coverage and improve data capacity.
Ericsson's unified billing solution aligns with the Open Digital Architecture of TM Forum and supports open APIs, allowing for catalog-based product setup and integration of billing and policy control. The most recent agreement strengthens the long-lasting collaboration between the two companies as Vi continues to enhance its network and IT modernization plan.