Vodafone Idea Network Issue: The Vi Server Down

Numerous users have reported problems with mobile internet, among other things, suggesting that Vodafone Idea's servers are down. A complete blackout has been reported by several Vi users, who report that they were unable to access any network services. After midnight, more than 1880 reports about Vodafone Idea network issues were displayed by Downdetector, which monitors such outages. At approximately 1:01 a.m. on Friday, April 18, the number of complaints reached its highest point. Only when the volume of problem complaints is much greater than what is normal for that time of day does Downdetector report an event.

Users Raising Issue on Social Media

Additionally, users reported problems with their Vi network on Twitter, with some claiming that the entire network seemed to be down. "Is VI (Vodafone Idea) still in use? The network appears to be totally down," a user posted on X. The cities where customers are having the most problems, according to Downdetector, are Mumbai, Faridabad, Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, and Ghaziabad. 71% of customers complained of "no signal," 21% complained of "total blackout," and 9% complained of "mobile internet" problems.

Vi Going Through a Bad Patch

The Vi network problem occurred just a few days after the government raised its ownership stake in the telco to over 49%, raising expectations for its recovery. The government's waiver is a component of a reform package for 2021 that aims to preserve healthy competition in a market troubled by growing AGR dues, spectrum usage costs, and licence fees. Telecom service providers were given the choice to choose a four-year payment moratorium as a result of the change. The deadline for this was September 2025.

The government also offered telecoms a one-time chance to convert the Net Present Value (NPV) of the interest amount into equity in order to exercise the option of paying interest for the four years on postponed spectrum instalments and AGR dues. Vodafone Idea decided to implement a four-year embargo to postpone spectrum-payment obligations associated with spectrum auctions until 2016 and AGR dues until the 2019 fiscal year, over a month after the reforms were announced.

The indebted telecom company announced this week that the DIPAM had been issued 3695 crore shares by the board's Capital Raising Committee. The credit grade of the telecom business led by the Aditya Birla Group has been raised by ratings agency ICRA. ICRA raised Vodafone Idea's credit rating by one notch on 18 April. For Vi's long-term fund facilities, the agency has raised the rating from BB+ given by CARE Ratings in June 2024 to BBB-.