Vi adds 1.3 million subscribers as broadband sites reach 610,521

Vi added 1.3 million net subscribers in Q2FY27, taking its end-of-period base to 194.4 million, while total broadband sites reached 610,521. The reported quarter also included a 2.0 million sequential rise in postpaid subscribers to 33.9 million and 27.1% year-on-year growth in daily data usage to 93.6 petabytes.

How did Vi's subscriber base change in Q2FY27?

Vi added 1.3 million subscribers in Q2FY27, increasing its end-of-period subscriber base from 193.1 million in Q1FY27 to 194.4 million. This was the largest quarterly net addition in the five reported quarters, following net losses of 1.0 million in Q2FY26, 3.8 million in Q3FY26 and 0.1 million in Q4FY26, followed by a 0.3 million addition in Q1FY27.

Vi's postpaid base increased by 2.0 million during Q2FY27 to 33.9 million, compared with 31.9 million in Q1FY27 and 27.9 million in Q2FY26. The postpaid count was therefore 6.0 million higher year on year, even as the total subscriber base of 194.4 million remained 2.3 million below the 196.7 million recorded in Q2FY26.

The visitor location register, or VLR, subscriber base rose to 167.8 million in Q2FY27 from 167.0 million in Q1FY27, but was below 171.5 million a year earlier. Blended churn was 4.0% in Q2FY27, compared with 3.8% in Q1FY27 and 4.3% in Q2FY26.

How much did Vi expand its broadband network?

Vi expanded total broadband sites by 29,638 in Q2FY27 to 610,521, from 580,883 in Q1FY27 and 527,012 in Q2FY26. The year-on-year increase was 83,509 sites, while total unique broadband towers rose to 213,616 from 204,893 in the preceding quarter and 191,096 a year earlier.

Vi reported 216,560 total unique towers at the end of Q2FY27, up from 209,269 in Q1FY27 and 198,428 in Q2FY26. Management described the Q2FY27 addition in unique broadband towers as the highest quarterly addition in the previous nine quarters.

The fourth-generation mobile network, or 4G, covered 431,445 census towns and villages in Q2FY27, compared with 429,730 in Q1FY27 and 398,779 in Q2FY26. Reported 4G population coverage increased to 87.8% from 87.0% sequentially and 84.4% year on year, while second-generation mobile coverage remained at 91.3% in all five reported quarters.

Did Vi's data use and ARPU rise?

Vi's daily data usage rose to 93.6 petabytes per day in Q2FY27, up 27.1% from 73.6 petabytes per day in Q2FY26 and 5.9% from 88.4 petabytes per day in Q1FY27. Average data use per fourth-generation and fifth-generation, or 4G and 5G, subscriber reached 23.0 gigabytes, compared with 21.7 gigabytes sequentially and 18.5 gigabytes a year earlier.

The 4G and 5G subscriber base increased to 131.0 million in Q2FY27 from 130.1 million in Q1FY27 and 127.8 million in Q2FY26. Total data subscribers rose more gradually, reaching 136.4 million from 136.0 million in the prior quarter and 134.7 million a year earlier, while daily data usage increased by 20.0 petabytes from Q2FY26.

Customer average revenue per user, or ARPU, excluding machine-to-machine connections, was Rs 198 in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 195 in Q1FY27 and Rs 180 in Q2FY26. Blended ARPU was Rs 178, versus Rs 177 sequentially and Rs 167 a year earlier; management said sequential customer ARPU growth was muted by seasonality.

Voice use moved in the opposite direction to data consumption. Total minutes of use fell to 340 billion in Q2FY27 from 341 billion in Q1FY27 and 346 billion in Q2FY26, while average minutes of use per user was 585 minutes, compared with 590 minutes in the prior quarter and 585 minutes a year earlier.

How did subscriber growth affect Vi's Q2FY27 financials?

Vi reported revenue from operations of Rs 11,884 crore in Q2FY27, up 6.2% from Rs 11,195 crore in Q2FY26 and 1.7% from Rs 11,689 crore in Q1FY27. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, were Rs 4,981 crore, 6.3% above the year-earlier Rs 4,685 crore but below Rs 5,034 crore in Q1FY27.

The EBITDA margin was 41.9% in Q2FY27, unchanged from Q2FY26 and below 43.1% in Q1FY27. Vi attributed the sequential moderation to annual increments and brand-refresh marketing, while operating expenditure increased to Rs 6,903 crore from Rs 6,655 crore in Q1FY27 and Rs 6,510 crore in Q2FY26.

Cash EBITDA before Indian Accounting Standard 116, or Ind AS 116, was Rs 2,498 crore in Q2FY27, up 11.2% from Rs 2,246 crore a year earlier and up from Rs 2,475 crore in Q1FY27. The cash EBITDA margin was 21.0%, compared with 20.1% in Q2FY26 and 21.2% in the prior quarter.

Vi reported a loss after tax of Rs 5,975 crore in Q2FY27, compared with losses of Rs 3,754 crore in Q1FY27 and Rs 5,524 crore in Q2FY26. The quarter included an exceptional item of Rs 462 crore from an adverse mark-to-market effect on treasury assets, while loss after tax adjusted for exceptional items was Rs 5,513 crore against Rs 5,365 crore in Q1FY27.

Conclusion

Vi's Q2FY27 figures combine a return to meaningful net customer additions with higher postpaid subscribers, wider 4G coverage and a larger broadband-site footprint. Daily data usage rose faster than the data-subscriber base, while customer ARPU, revenue and cash EBITDA increased year on year; EBITDA margin, however, declined sequentially to 41.9% and the reported loss after tax was Rs 5,975 crore.

The next operational question is whether Vi can sustain net additions after the 1.3 million Q2FY27 increase and continue network additions beyond 610,521 broadband sites. Management has also disclosed a plan to expand viFinance into other categories over the next one year, providing a separate product-development milestone to watch.