VI (Vodafone) Worst User Experience

[Netmagic]

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my concerns regarding the deteriorating service quality I have experienced with Vi in Kolkata recently. In November 2023, I ported my Airtel number to Vi because Airtel's service was subpar at that time. However, over the last two months, Vi's service in Kolkata has significantly degraded. VoLTE service frequently drops out, and the 4G speeds have slowed down to match 3G speeds. Additionally, 4G+ coverage is largely unavailable in most areas. Despite raising multiple complaints through various channels, I have not seen any improvement.

Last week, I placed an order to upgrade my existing Vi SIM to a postpaid plan. Since then, I have been contacted numerous times by your local sales team, the Mumbai team, and representatives from the nearest store, all assuring me of my value as a customer and offering the upgrade at no additional cost. However, when I raised concerns about the network issues, I was simply advised to upgrade to a postpaid plan for access to a supposedly superior network with priority service.

Considering these ongoing issues, I am now considering porting my number back to Airtel or possibly Jio. My wife currently uses an Airtel prepaid number, and I am particularly interested in exploring the Airtel Postpaid Family plan. Kindly suggest is this good step to move on airtel postpaid or any thing else?

 

[SVK]

Indian mobile operators are notorious in providing better network for Postpaid customers. My Airtel Postpaid had good speed on 4G compared to Prepaid. But monthly cost was high and unnecessary after I got wired broadband, so I opted for Prepaid later.
Not sure how VI Postpaid would be better if there overall infrastructure is struggling at the moment. (someone might post they are getting funding, etc, but current reality is that their network is behind compared to Airtel and Jio).

 

[unnecessary]

Yes @Netmagic it's true that Vi postpaid is prioritised on a different later than prepaid. I have experienced it myself in 2022 & 2023 along with many other users in our group. You can give it a shot if you want or go to any other operator as it's a free market and as a consumer you have your own choice.

 

[Iambic Potato]

@Netmagic I don't know if postpaid will solve network issues in your case, but I was on Vi postpaid until the last month and their network was absolutely awful. Calls dropping left and right, internet barely working and poor speeds even on carrier aggregation. While it is true that both Vi and Airtel prioritise postpaid users, I had a horrible experience on Vi postpaid itself, so I doubt how much of it is because of a prioritisation thing or a sub par network in itself!