Vodafone Idea starts a convergent service experiment in 12 cities throughout three circles

1 Nov 2023 , 11:34 AM

In an effort to stop customer losses, Vodafone Idea plans to introduce converged offerings to compete with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. According to some analysts, an improvement in operations will help the struggling telecom operator survive through the first half of 2025–2026 even in the absence of a sizable fundraising effort.

Low on funds During the September quarter earnings call earlier this week, Vodafone Idea announced that it has begun a pilot program for mobility, broadband, and content as a unified offering called Vi One in 12 cities across three circles in partnership with You Broadband. Vi One will eventually be expanded to other cities and circles.

For prepaid customers, Vi One integrates content, fixed broadband, and mobility.

This is on top of Vodafone Idea’s intervention with its Rs 99 prepaid plans, which the company stated were extended to 15 circles in mid-August.

During the earnings call, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra stated, ‘We would like to reiterate that (we) continue to have a disproportionate focus to build a digital ecosystem with our partners enabling a differentiated experience for Vi users which will help us drive consumer stickiness as well as providing incremental monetization opportunities.’

However, until press time, the business did not offer any additional information about the integrated plan.

The cash-strapped telecom company added 1.8 million 4G users in the second quarter of this fiscal year, its largest number in eight quarters, and had its lowest customer attrition since Vodafone India and Idea Cellular combined to form Vodafone Idea (1.6 million customers). Moondra said that the telco had net increases in its post-paid subscriber base after a few quarters, a client group it will be eager to hold onto in order to spur growth.

Since November 2021, the industry has not experienced significant tariff increases, which has impacted the telcos’ respective revenue growth. Analysts predict that the next significant round of tariff increases won’t happen until after the upcoming fiscal year’s first quarter.

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