Elaborative SWOT Analysis of Vi – One of the World’s Top Indian Telecom Operator

Updated on: Feb 1, 2022

In the previous article, we did a detailed SWOT analysis of Airtel – one of the best Indian multinational telecommunications services companies based in New Delhi, India. Today we are here with another detailed SWOT Analysis of Vi.

Vi or Vodafone Vi Limited is a provider of telecom services in India whose headquarters are based in Mumbai and Gandhinagar. It is a pan-India incorporated GSM operator delivering 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi services. A subscriber base of 269.03 Million was recorded in the year 2018 which makes Vi the third-largest mobile telecommunications network in India and the 10th largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.

Another aspect that made Vi the giant it is now in its marketing efforts. As the world goes online, marketing is changing and if you are interested in learning about the latest – check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah. 

Do you want to learn how Vi became so successful in the telecommunications industry? In this blog, we will learn about the SWOT Analysis of Vi and decode the answer. Before we begin, let us learn more about Vi the company, founding, products, financial status and competitors.

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About Vi

SWOT Analysis of Vi - Vi Store

Vodafone Vi Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is India’s leading telecom service provider. The company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms.

With the large spectrum portfolio to support the growing demand for data and voice, the company is committed to delivering delightful customer experiences and contributing towards creating a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. The company is developing infrastructure to introduce newer and smarter technologies, making both retail and enterprise customers future-ready with innovative offerings, conveniently accessible through an ecosystem of digital channels as well as extensive on-ground presence. The company is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

Quick Stats on Vi
Founder Kumar Mangalam Birla
Year Founded 2018 as Vi
Origin Mumbai
No. of Employees 13,520
Company Type Limited Company
Market Cap Rs 30,75 Crore (2021)
Annual Revenue Rs 42,126 Crore (2021)
Net Income/ Profit Rs 44,464 Crore (2021)

 

SWOT Analysis of Vi - Vi Postpaid & Prepaid


Products & Services by Vi
 

Vi has been in the telecommunications industry for more than a century and gives its best services in

  • Mobile telephony
  • Wireless broadband
  • Internet services
  • Pan India Voice
  • Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platform


Competitors of Vi

Vi competes on a global level with many other telecommunications. The competitors of Vi are:

  • Reliance Jio
  • Airtel

Now that we understand the company’s core business, let’s delve into the SWOT Analysis of Vi.


SWOT Analysis of Vi

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that can be used to do a situational analysis of the company by measuring strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the company is facing in its current business environment. 

It deals with two factors: internal and external. Strength and weakness are based on internal factors whereas opportunities and threats rely on external factors of the company.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Vi, refer to the infographics below:

SWOT Analysis of Vi - SWOT Infographics of Vi

Below is a step-by-step detailed guide to help you with the SWOT analysis of Vi.

Strengths of Vi

The brand’s competence gives an edge over capturing the maximum market in the industry and earning more profits. Hence here we go with the strengths as follows:

  • Advertising: Celebrity brand ambassadors have boosted the brand to a great extent. Vi also has high brand visibility in form of social media ads, television ads, and others such as banners, etc.
  • Customer Base: Vi is one of the most popular cellular service providers in India with more than 352 million subscribers. As of 2019, Vi had 403 million users worldwide.
  • Extensive infrastructure: From its partnership with Airtel to build the Indus Tower, Vi has extended its infrastructure all over the country which is helping it in gaining new customers.
  • Unique Marketing: Vi as a company invests highly in marketing strategies and tries to develop creative marketing campaigns to grab the attention of consumers. The company has several other creative marketing campaigns which have left an impression on the market. They are huge in the social media marketing space and this has won them many customers. If you wish to learn social media to stay relevant as well, head on over to IIDE’s Social Media Management Course and get started.
  • Great Deals: Vi is known for the best big data plans. Whether it is a postpaid unlimited data plan or a 100 GB plan it continues to serve the customers with great deals. Vi has a complete edge over the market when it comes to big data plans.
  • Network Coverage: Vi has excellent network coverage. Its yearly growth rate is 1.1% in India. Also, according to the latest TRAI telecom regulatory, Vi had the highest upload speed of 6.7 Mbps speed in May 2021.


Weaknesses of Vi

Weaknesses are aspects of a business or brand that have a scope for improvement. So let’s check some of Vi’s major weaknesses:

  • Outsourcing Operations: Outsourcing operations has helped in reducing its prices. This causes the risk of the company having to be dependent on some other companies which may affect its operations
  • High Debt: Vi has been under huge debt. This is because their acquisitions have been turning out to be bad investments and also high credit and low margins.
  • Financial Losses: Recently, Vi is facing huge financial losses due to increasing tariff rates and Sim consolidation results in decreasing customer base. The government of India has also stopped supporting Vi and they don’t want to run the telecom.
  • High Prices for Small Plans: Vi postpaid plans pricing seems to fall slightly on a higher side which is comparatively expensive for people in India to afford it. Vi’s competitors like Jio seemed to have an upper hand when it comes to budgeted calling and data plans.
  • Reliance in Indian Market for Major Revenue: As Vi has its main headquarters in India  it is providing the services more efficiently and gets major revenue from India. It is mostly dependent on the Indian market and hence lacks revenue from worldwide.


Opportunities of Vi

Opportunities for a company are the sectors in which a company may progress considering the current market situations and weaknesses of other companies.

  • Strategic Partnership: As far as MNP is concerned partnering with smartphone companies is going to be the smartest strategy. This guarantees fixed cash flows in the future and would also ensure an increased customer base.
  • Market Development: Considering the brutal competition in the telecommunications industry & shrinking margins, venturing into new markets/developing economies will prove to be a success for the company.
  • Untapped Scope of the Current Market: Although it currently provides 4G coverage, such networks should be provided even in rural areas. Also developing more infrastructure to provide better connectivity. The company should aim towards providing these services to most of its regions, these would, as a result, help the company to achieve higher profits and an increase in customers.
  • Advancement in Technology: The current advancements in technology and 5G trials could also prove an excellent success for the company. 5G and LTE services are not yet very common in the country especially in rural cities, Vi can extend their services in this direction to get new customers.
  • Affordable Plans: Vi should reduce its data plans so that people in India can openly afford them. It should follow its competitors’ pricing methodology to stay competitive in the market.


Threats of Vi

Threats to a company are the reasons that are causing or may cause a decrease in the number of customers.

  • Competitor Jio: Jio has been providing the customers with faster network services and has also developed much more in the 5G technology. Jio’s ethernet cable services labelled Jio Fibre has gained a lot of attraction due to its low pricing and the great internet speed with rare to no fluctuations in internet speeds.
  • Government Regulatory Framework: As a result of the normal auctioning of spectrum & change in government policies, there is a possible threat to the stability of this market, as companies with deeper pockets are more likely to gain from these auctions.
  • Competition: The continuously changing prices in the Indian market and the rising margins are adversely affecting Vi’s business by a huge amount. Reliance Jio had started free data and calling a few years back which caused a huge disruption in the telecom sector, causing other companies to reduce their prices.
  • Mobile Number Portability: MNP is a set of rules that provides the customers with an option to change the company while keeping the number, since Vi has higher pricing in comparison to some other service providers there is a huge possibility of customers changing for cheaper service alternatives.
  • Huge Losses: Vi shares fall by 8% and there is a massive loss of user base due to increasing prices of plans and poor services in some areas. If such losses continue will let Vi face huge challenges to keep itself in the market.

Now that we have done a deep dive into the SWOT analysis of Vi, let us conclude our learnings below.

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Conclusion

Vi has been around for more than two decades and is a powerful telecom brand in the market. But somehow Vi is facing challenges to sustain its popularity in the market despite rapidly changing consumer needs and ever-developing technology patterns. 

With its extensive marketing skills, it has a wide reach but has to undergo tough competition due to an increase in demand and various other competitors coming up with new brands and strategies. 

In today’s dynamic world digital marketing is of utmost importance. Hence, improving marketing skills is very paramount for digital marketing enthusiasts. If you are intrigued with the above piece of information in learning more and upskilling, check out the 3 Months Advanced Digital Marketing Course by IIDE to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Vi has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

If you enjoy in-depth company research just like the SWOT analysis of Vi, check out our IIDE Knowledge portal for more fascinating case studies.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and do share your thoughts on this case study of the SWOT analysis of Vi in the comments section below.

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Author's Note:

My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis.

Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience.

If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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