Vodafone slashes mobile Internet charges by 80 percent across India
Ahead of Diwali festivities, Vodafone India has cut its mobile Internet charges by 80 percent across the country.
All pre-paid and post-paid customers using 2G will now be charged 0.02 rupee (0.03 US cents) per kilobyte, instead of 0.1 rupee (0.15 US cents) on a "pay as you go" basis, Vodafone said in a statement. This puts it in line with its 3G rates and are the lowest in the market, according to the telco.
"Thiis 80 percent reduction in mobile Internet charges for customers using 2G is an important step in our strategy to drive mobile Internet and we are confident that this move will facilitate in faster adoption and better usage," said Vivek Mathur, chief commercial officer of Vodafone India.
Rising mobile Internet usage has been a revenue growth driver for Indian telcos, to offset declining voice revenue. Earlier this week, Bharti Airtel registered a second quarter 11 percent rise in average revenue per user (ARPU) from the previous quarter from higher data usage.
According to stats by Avendus Capital, in contrast to developed nations that have 20 to 25 percent mobile-only Internet users, India's mobile Internet penetration is more than double.