New Delhi: India’s telecom sector is seeing another round of backend upgrades as operators prepare for deeper 5G rollout and higher data demand. On March 02, 2026, Vodafone Idea confirmed it is expanding its partnership with Ericsson to modernise its postpaid systems and strengthen its network footprint across the country.

The move builds on an earlier migration of prepaid users to Ericsson’s charging platform in 2023. Now, the focus shifts to postpaid subscribers and real-time billing systems.

Vi expands Ericsson partnership for postpaid and 5G push

Vodafone Idea said Ericsson will deploy cloud native Ericsson Charging for its postpaid segment. The new system will replace legacy offline charging with a convergent charging system that supports real time charging for voice, VoLTE, SMS and data services across consumer and enterprise users.

In simple terms, this means faster billing updates and more flexible plans. I have seen how postpaid users often wait for usage alerts. Real time charging can change that experience.

Jagbir Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Idea said, “We’re looking forward to further strengthening our longstanding partnership with Ericsson. The simplification and benefits of cloud-native Ericsson Charging will help us future-proof our architecture, enabling us to meet the demands of today’s digital environment and tomorrow’s 5G needs as Indians embrace this new era of connectivity.”

Network expansion across 10 circles

Ericsson has already deployed new 5G and 4G sites, layer additions on existing sites and HPSC towers across 10 circles since 2024 . Going forward, it will continue site deployment, capacity augmentation and coverage expansion.

AI apps to manage charging and cloud stack

The agreement includes Ericsson Telco IT AI apps such as Anomaly Detection for Charging Applications, Order Fallout Detection and Prediction, Capacity Forecast for Telco Cloud Stack and Intelligent Usage Analysis for Charging.

Andres Vicente, CEO, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson said, “We are delighted to expand our collaboration by deploying Ericsson Charging to modernise Vi’s postpaid rating and charging functionalities from offline to real time rating and charging model.”

Ericsson’s convergent charging solution complies with TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture and uses open APIs. Vi expects reduced OPEX and faster service launches as part of this shift.