Vodafone Idea to renew tech outsourcing deal with IBM for about $1 billion

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is set to renew a multi-year technology outsourcing pact with US tech giant, IBM, for an estimated value of about $1 billion (about Rs 8,330 crore), people familiar with the matter said.

The potential deal is crucial for Vi in its efforts to strengthen IT infrastructure ahead of the planned roll out of 5G services in the country’s top 100 cities across its 17 priority markets. Launching 5G services will allow the cash-strapped telco to intensify its competition with bigger – and profitable – rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in key markets and arrest customer losses.