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Tag: Vodafone India

  • Jio announces new unlimited plans, hikes prepaid mobile tariffs by 21 per cent

    Jio announces new unlimited plans, hikes prepaid mobile tariffs by 21 per cent

    Mumbai: After Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India, Reliance Jio on Sunday has announced upto 21 per cent hike in its prepaid tariffs effective next month. The new unlimited plans will go-live on 1 December.

    “In line with its commitment to further strengthen a sustainable telecom industry, where every Indian is empowered with a true digital life, Jio has announced its new unlimited plans,” the largest mobile operator said in a statement. “These plans will provide the best value in the industry. Jio customers will continue to be the biggest beneficiaries.”

    The tariff hikes cover the Jio Phone plan, unlimited plans, as well as data add ons.

    Despite the increase in rates, Jio has kept the price of plans lower than its competitors Airtel and Vodafone Idea, who had hiked up their prepaid plans by upto 25 per cent last week. The company has kept its lowest rate for 28 days’ validity plan at Rs 91 for Jio phone users which is the lowest among private telecom operators. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have hiked the entry-level plan with 28 days validity to Rs 99.

    The tariff hikes were announced across 15 plans, which include one for Jio phone users, 11 in unlimited category and three in data top up category. The popular unlimited category plan offering 1.5 GB daily data usage plan with 84 days’ validity will go up by about 20 per cent to Rs 666 from Rs 555 at present.

    While the annual unlimited category plan offering 2 GB daily usage at 4G speed will be priced at Rs 2,879 instead of Rs 2,399 at present.

  • Disney+ Hotstar & Netflix dominate India’s SVoD market: Omdia

    Disney+ Hotstar & Netflix dominate India’s SVoD market: Omdia

    MUMBAI: Now here’s further research confirming Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar’s dominance of the Indian streaming market. Research firm Omdia’s  2021 Online Video Market and Consumer Trends Report released on 31 March states that the two streaming giants accounted for 50 per cent of all subscription video on demand (SVoD) signups in India in 2020. This was on the back of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown which saw SVoD revenues spurt 142 per cent from $265 million to $639 million by end 2020. The duo accounted for 78 per cent of that final tally, meaning about $498.42 million.

    While Disney+ Hotstar trebled its subscriber base from eight million to 25.6 million in 2020, Netflix nearly doubled its subs from 2.4 million in 2019 to 4.4 million in the same period. The Indian streamer’s growth partly came from the  bundling of Disney+ and Hotstar, as well as the postponement of the start of the thirteenth  season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) from April to September, as well as competitive pricing plans and exclusive rights to foreign content such as Game of Thrones.

    One of the key factors for the growth of subscriptions for online video is the aggressive pricing models of both Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix, with the latter launching mobile only subscription packages in 2019, reflecting the Indian consumption habits. 82 per cent of online video services are accessed through smartphones with only 39 per cent accessing content through dedicated TV apps (data from Omdia’s 2020 consumer survey).

    Disney+ Hotstar on the other hand offers three specific content packages. The VIP plan (Rs 399 per year) offers dubbed local languages while Premium (Rs 299 per month) offers both English and dubbed version of content. In terms of device access, the VIP plan only allows its subscribers to watch on one screen in HD while Premium allows subscribers to watch on two screens simultaneously in full HD.

    By offering affordable streaming plans and partnering with large telcos such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India, Omdia expects that mobile-only subscriptions will continue to grow over the next couple of years. However, mobile-only subscriptions will face challenges from traditional pay TV services as pay TV services aggregate OTT video services with their core pay TV plans.

    Whilst retaining premium rights to foreign titles and sporting events have contributed to significant growth in revenues and subscribers, over the past few years there has been an increased focus on investing in original Indian language content, Omdia noted.

    In 2021, Amazon Prime and Netflix will continue their large investment in original Indian content, with the two major US services set to invest around $340 million, representing 52 per cent of the total investment in 2021. Omdia expects that close to 400 original titles (mostly series and films) will be produced in 2021 by the global and Indian OTT services.

    Most of the investment being made is directed towards original content in Hindi, around 65 per cent  of total spending, according to the Omdia report.

    “The online video (OTT) market of India is steadily growing its foothold in every direction,” says Omdia principal analyst – TV & online video, consumer Constantinos Papavassilopoulos. “The Covid2019 pandemic accelerated the growth rate of an already dynamic and robust OTT market. The basic elements that will propel the market to further growth in the near future are already there: very affordable mobile broadband prices, high penetration of smart-phones, a population eager to consume more content, an ever-growing investment in Indian originals and a plethora of choices with more than 40 OTT services operating in the country.”

  • Vodafone-Idea merger may be delayed beyond 30 June

    Vodafone-Idea merger may be delayed beyond 30 June

    MUMBAI: The mega-merger deal of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India may not meet the expected 30 June timeline as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking to raise a fresh demand of around Rs 4700 crore. Idea Cellular stocks fell 6 per cent in intra-day trade at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

    “Vodafone India had merged its all arm into one company and there are dues of around Rs 4700 crore related to one-time spectrum charges (OTSC) on the company. DoT will ask Vodafone to either clear dues or furnish bank guarantee before merger with Idea,” an official said as quoted by PTI.

    According to a report from Economic Times, the shares of the company opened at Rs 60.05 and touched a high and low of Rs 60.05 and Rs 57.80, respectively, in trade so far. Benchmark BSE Sensex was down 50 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 35,639 at around the same time. 

    In 2015, Vodafone had merged its four subsidiaries Vodafone East, Vodafone South, Vodafone Cellular and Vodafone Digilink with Vodafone Mobile Services, which is now called Vodafone India.

    The merged entity is proposed to be named Vodafone Idea Ltd if approved by shareholders of Idea Cellular. Vodafone Group and existing promoters of Idea will hold 45.1 and 26 per cent of the equity share capital of the merged company, respectively, and public shareholders will hold the balance 28.9 per cent.

    Also Read :

    DoT seeks legal view on the Vodafone-Idea merger

    Vodafone to get new shine from Idea; merger on its last leg

  • Vodafone Sparks Football Fervor on MyVodafone App

    Vodafone Sparks Football Fervor on MyVodafone App

    MUMBAI: Taking the football fever a notch higher, Vodafone India is giving its customers an exciting opportunity to win iPad Mini by playing a simple game on MyVodafone App. Customers need to score goal points by playing a game or transacting on MyVodafone App, thereby standing a chance to win iPad Mini every day.

    How to participate in Get-Set-Goal
    • Score goals on MyVodafone App to earn points 
    • Recharge & Pay Bills to get a chance to score another goal & earn additional points
    • Earn the highest points to win the daily prize 
    • Win the bumper prize by earning the highest number of points 

    With its interactive proposition on MyVodafone App, Vodafone India aims to make the current FIFA season more engaging for its digital savvy customers. The 34-day contest will be held from 11th June – 15th July, 2018.  The bumper prize winner will get a travel voucher worth Rs. 1 Lakh

    MyVodafone App is an intuitive and customized interface which provides a personalized experience to postpaid and prepaid customers, giving them the power to manage their Vodafone account on their fingertips, at their convenience.

    Easy to navigate, with in-built smart analytics, the app provides a detailed understanding to each customer about his/her usage of the pack/plan on real time basis, manage multiple accounts, track bill payments and recharges, subscribe to new products and services and make MNP requests. Users are also prompted a choice of best pack and plan options basis their past usage trend.

  • Balesh Sharma becomes CEO of merged Vodafone-Idea entity

    Balesh Sharma becomes CEO of merged Vodafone-Idea entity

    MUMBAI: Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group have announced the proposed new leadership team of the merger between two major telecom operators of India – Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

    Balesh Sharma who is currently the chief operating officer of Vodafone India will become the CEO of the merged entity. He joined Vodafone in 2003 and over the years, has held several senior management positions in India and internationally.

    Idea Cellular CEO Kumar Mangalam Birla will become the non-executive chairman of the merged Company.

    Sashi Shankar, who is currently the chief marketing officer at Idea, will be responsible for marketing and brand strategy for the consumer business. 

    Anil Tandon and Rajat Mukherjee, currently head of technology and head of corporate affairs of Idea will be full time advisers to the merged business in their respective areas of expertise, working closely with Vishant Vora and P Balaji, respectively.

    The appointments will come into effect after the merger is completed.

    Vodafone Group Plc and Idea Cellular announced the proposed leadership team of the combined business, which will come into effect after the merger has been completed. This is in line with the original merger announcement of March 20, 2017, which said that the management team of the combined business would be confirmed prior to closing. 

    This is in line with the original merger announcement of 20 March 2017, which said that the management team of the combined business would be confirmed prior to closing.

    The existing leadership teams of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India will continue to manage their separate businesses and be accountable for each company’s operational performance until the merger becomes effective. 

    It is only upon completion of the merger that the two businesses will cease to operate as distinct and competing entities.

    Also Read:

    Vodafone to get new shine from Idea; merger on its last leg 

    Is India ready for the impact of AI on marketing?

    Vodafone brings back the Pug in AR

    The rising trend of coopetition among brands

  • Vodafone India modernises for IoT-ready future

    Vodafone India modernises for IoT-ready future

    MUMBAI: Internet of Things (IoT), the technology that connects any digital device to your phone, is one of the hottest buzzwords in the technology industry this year. Telecom operator Vodafone India has marked itself as the first brand to undergo this evolution in India by asking consumers to be future ready.

    Vodafone has repositioned itself as a modern, contemporary, inspiring and future-fit brand with its new tagline, “The future is exciting, Ready?’’. It is a significant metamorphosis for one of India’s most iconic and loved brands from its earlier ‘Power to you’ tagline, which was introduced in 2009. This new positioning, part of Vodafone’s global rebranding exercise across 36 countries, is designed to underline Vodafone’s belief in new technologies and digital services playing a positive role in transforming society.

    Although the repositioning is a part of its global campaign, Vodafone wants Indian consumers to understand technology by showcasing Indian characters and Indian scenarios in its campaigns. The new visual identity will place greater emphasis on Vodafone’s iconic ‘speech mark’ logo that will now appear as the central graphical focus overlaid on all marketing and marketing communications collateral in a new 2D design in place of a skeuomorphic 3D approach.

    Vodafone India managing director and chief executive officer Sunil Sood said that the telco has marked a 180 per cent growth in SIM cards used for IoT devices in India. Although the numbers are small, the market is still emerging and with government’s smart cities initiative, a lot of IoT solutions would be used, making it an exciting time to reposition itself. Globally, 60 million SIM cards have been sold for IoT solutions.

    “India is entering a new exciting era of digital, convergence, big data, IoT, cloud, augmented realities, robotics and AI. The real and virtual worlds are converging at an unprecedented pace to create a bold new future. Our new brand positioning emphasises Vodafone’s mission and purpose to help customers and communities adapt, navigate and prosper from the remarkable new trends reshaping the world,” he adds.

    The company recently tied up with various smartphone makers like Intex, Micromax, Lava and Nokia to encourage current non-users of 4G to upgrade and use internet. Vodafone India chief operating officer Balesh Sharma mentioned that the company has a well distributed network in India and now wants to make feature phones more affordable in rural India.

    The telecom corporation will invest only selectively in print media but its digital spends will increase. “Our media spends will evolve over the next few years and we will invest heavily in digital and social media as that is where the opportunity lies,” he adds.

    It remains to be seen whether Vodafone can replicate its success of earlier campaigns, such as its evergreen Zoozoos, into the unknown territory of IoT.

  • Vodafone & WhatsApp take local language initiative

    MUMBAI: One of the leading telecom operators is looking to promote and educate customers about the local language features and has rolled out an animated step-by-step approach to handhold customers.

    Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, together with WhatsApp is happy to educate millions of users to use the app in local India languages. Vodafone is one of the first operators to start such an initiative and aims to empower its consumers to connect with each other in a language of their preference.

    Today, WhatsApp is available in more than 50 different languages around the world. The app currently has over 200 million monthly active users in India, using 10 Indian languages.

    To drive the adoption of the newly introduced local language feature on WhatsApp, Vodafone has built customized pages in various Indian languages (Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil among others). The interface on the page is built with an animated step-by-step approach displaying the option of changing to different Indian languages while chatting. This makes setting up the local language option for WhatsApp on Vodafone a simple matter of a few clicks. Updating status, chatting or even sharing messages in the language of the customer’s choice is possible. With a simple click, consumers can even install WhatsApp.

    Vodafone India chief commercial officer Sandeep Kataria said, “We see it as a big step towards empowering the next one billion internet users. It is also in keeping with our philosophy of connecting for good. We believe that local language support is a clear area of focus for us, and we see this campaign with WhatsApp as a step in the right direction.”

    “Together with Vodafone, we want to make communication more accessible and convenient in India,” says WhatsApp vice president Neeraj Arora. “People can easily use WhatsApp in the Indian language of their choice to connect with friends and family anytime and anywhere. Language choice is an important feature for our users and we are happy to stand together with Vodafone on this education initiative that makes messaging on WhatsApp an even better experience.”

  • Amazon Prime expands reach, available to Voda subs

    NEW DELHI: With the battle for space among telecom service providers reaching a high pitch, Vodafone India has become the first telecom operator to partner with Amazon Prime Video India enabling customers to seamlessly access their large selection of latest and exclusive Bollywood, Hollywood and regional movies, US TV shows, kids’ programming and global Amazon Originals.

    Vodafone consumers can enjoy Amazon Prime with a special consumer offer on its data strong Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G network from 22 March 2017. After subscribing to Amazon Prime via MyVodafone App or Vodafone Website for an annual introductory subscription price of only Rs 499, Vodafone customers will get Rs 250 cashback as their Amazon Pay Balance. Currently, the offer is available only for Vodafone customers using Android devices.

    Vodafone India director – commercial Sandeep Kataria said, “The entertainment consumption patterns of customers are rapidly changing. They want more freedom and flexibility in the way they consume content. This partnership with Amazon Prime Video does just that, further strengthening our content proposition and reiterating our commitment to offering the best to our customers along with unique privileges. It makes available a wide range of latest, high-quality movies and TV shows to our millions of customers, giving them exclusive access to a diverse selection of entertainment and rich content with an unparalleled streaming experience on the data strong Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G network”.

    Amazon Prime Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said, “At Amazon Prime Video, our focus is on offering latest and exclusive movies and TV shows to customers on a reliable service, with great playback quality and low data usage. This offer further extends our promise of delivering convenient, on-demand access to our large content selection to our customers.”

    Amazon Prime already offers unlimited free One-day and Two-day delivery to over 100 cities on eligible items from India’s largest selection of products, 30 minutes early access for members on top deals and more benefits for an unparalleled shopping experience.

  • ‘#ConnectedSheCan’ with Voda on International Day

    MUMBAI: Armed with a key focus of building a diverse and inclusive work culture, Vodafone India will celebrate the International Women’s Day with a week-long series of exciting events lined up from 6- 10 March, 2017. The theme #ConnectedSheCan is aimed to bring a positive change to the lives of millions of women worldwide by enabling financial inclusion, improving health and wellbeing and building skills and entrepreneurship abilities in them.

    Over the years, Vodafone India has consciously worked to build an inclusive work environment and acknowledge the role that women play within the organization and society at large. It has also focused on increasing the representation of women in its 13,000+ strong countrywide workforce.

    Expressing his views on the organization’s future ambitions for women empowerment, Suvamoy Roy, Director – Human Resources, Vodafone India said, “We are an equal opportunity employer. Our diversity journey is built on the foundation of creating an ecosystem that is attractive to women professionals and enables them to succeed at the workplace. We are delighted to host a series of engaging initiatives as a part of #ConnectedSheCan to celebrate our women colleagues and their contribution to the workplace during this week.”

    Vodafone India’s Diversity Journey: Quick Overview

    •         Discover Graduates hires: over 50% women hires vs. 38% in 2013. In 2016, we have on-boarded 120 students through this programme. Out of the total, 52% are women hires.

    •         The gender ratio at our mid to senior level management positions is at about 16% (135 women out of 836 senior management positions) up from 10% in 2013.

    •         Vodafone India currently operators 40 Angel Stores (women only stores) across India

    BOLTRED is Vodafone India’s flagship program – aimed at offering an accelerated leadership development journey for high potential women, who undergo 10-months of training based on three primary pillars – Functional and Business Acumen, Leadership and Change and most importantly Personal Impact.

    RECONNECT

    Vodafone India aims to become the best employer for women, supporting them at the workplace in every stage of their lives.

    CONNECTING WOMEN – Aiming to connect 50 million women by 2025

    1.       Vodafone India has introduced ‘Vodafone Sakhi’, a unique proposition empowering women in rural India.  ‘Vodafone Sakhi’ allows women to make a Private Recharge through an OTP code, without mobile number sharing.

    2.       Smart Snehidi programme is India’s first targeted women centric proposition under the global ‘Vodafone mWomen’ initiative. The objective of the programme is to digitize rural women by overcoming their barriers to Internet usage to enhance their livelihoods. Launched in November 2016, 1000 ‘Snehidis’ have been enrolled across 3 districts in Tamil Nadu.

    WOMEN OF PURE WONDER

    Vodafone is committed to helping women compete on an equal footing across India. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Vodafone Foundation will release the 4th edition of its Women of Pure Wonder book that further reinforces this vision.

    INTERNAL ENGAGEMENTS

    A series of exciting events have been planned for Vodafone’s women employees, with multiple training sessions and inspiring discussions with renowned women speakers across the globe.

     

  • Clarify Rs 3,050-cr PoI penalty norms, telecom panel asks TRAI

    Clarify Rs 3,050-cr PoI penalty norms, telecom panel asks TRAI

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Commission as sought clarity from TRAI in the matter relating to the latter recommending Rs 50 crore per circle penalty on Vodafone India, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular in October 2016. The panel directed the department of telecom (DoT) to seek clarity from TRAI on whether the regulator can impose the penalty for violation for interconnect norms.

    The penalty was recommended by TRAI on the three telcos accused of denying interconnectivity to newcomer telco Reliance Jio. According to TRAI, the penalty for Airtel and Vodafone was at Rs 1,050 crore each, while for Idea it was around Rs 950 crore. DoT had earlier sought legal opinion from attorney-general on whether it had the powers to impose the penalty, to which he had opined that DoT could impose the penalty.

    A senior government official reportedly said the panel now asked DoT to seek clarification from TRAI on 10-12 points, including whether the 90-day period was given to the operators for providing point of interconnection (PoI), method of calculating penalty of Rs 50 crore per circle etc.

    Meanwhile, the panel has also okayed demand of Rs 2,834 crore to be raised from operators which provided services between February 2012, when Supreme Court cancelled their licences, and till the time they procured fresh permits after buying spectrum in auction.

    Experts said other issues that needed clarification included whether the penalty was reached after calculating congestion in the network on a monthly average and the fine was based upon the license as contract and not on PoI pact between the operators. Jio had in August submitted to TRAI that it will need 12,727 PoIs for mobile services and 3,068 PoIs for STD facilities before its commercial launch.

    Also Read:

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/trai/trai-hc-asks-idea-dot-to-file-affidavit-on-plea-170124

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/telecom/rs-30k-cr-to-enhance-jio-coverage-a-g-clears-dots-power-to-penalise-telcos-170114

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/tdsat/jio-hny-tdsat-raps-trai-as-contest-deepens-170106

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/trai/respond-to-vodafones-trai-challenge-in-two-weeks-govt-directed-170104