Vodafone India has slashed 2G Internet tariff by 80 percent.
The new data rate will be 2 paisa /10KB against 10 paisa /10KB earlier.
Vodafone India on Tuesday said this new rate would be applicable for all pre-paid and post-paid customers using 2G network on a Pay as you Go basis.
This is the lowest mobile Internet tariff in the Indian telecom market.
The telecom major is starting the new mobile Internet rates in circles including Karnataka, UP West and Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh circles.
Other telecom circles will be added in a phased manner.
The new mobile Internet strategy is aimed at boosting at its mobile Internet subscriber base in the country. As per telecom regulator TRAI’s December 2012 data, India has around 430.60 million wireless subscribers who have subscribed to data services.
Out of this, Vodafone India has 61.01 million data subscribers against Bharti Airtel’s 163.76 million. The other leading players in mobile Internet market are BSNL (with 83.33 million mobile Internet customers), Unitech (42.15 million) and Idea Cellular (20.90 million) as of 2012 December.
Reduction is 2G tariff across the country will also assist Vodafone to increase 3G customer base. Usually, 2G mobile Internet users will try to upgrade to 3G.
Plus, Vodafone India is facing regulatory issues on account of its roaming deal with Airtel and Idea Cellular. If Vodafone needs to stop 3G roaming — following the court and DoT directives, the new strategy will assist Vodafone to park its 3G customers with 2G mobile internet services.
Vivek Mathur, chief commercial officer, Vodafone India, said: “The 80 percent reduction in data charges for customers using 2G network is an important step in this direction and we are confident that this move will facilitate faster adoption and better usage.”
As part of its strategy to democratize data, Vodafone is building content partnerships, simplifying pricing, educating retailers and offering choice to customer basis their interests and consumption patterns.
