Vodafone buys out partner Essar
- Category: Vodafone
- Friday, 01 April 2011 13:03
- Written by MobiGyaan Team
Vodafone is getting bigger. They recently announced that will be buying out its Indian partner Essar for 5 billion dollars (about Rs 22,500 crore). They now have control of Essar’s 33% share and now will have 75% of the stake of which 1% will be going to the Indian partner as per FDI norms in the telecom sector which say only 74% of foreign investment is allowed.
London-based Execution analyst Will Draper said, "It was expected. It tidies up the stake, gives Vodafone 100 percent control and its one less thing to worry about in India."
"After taking control of the operations, Vodafone will become more aggressive in this market and will be better prepared for the next wave of opportunities. After all this dust settles over the sector, (market leader) Bharti and Vodafone will be the two stable players in India and will play a role in the sector consolidation,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Global Securities.
With this move, Vodafone is going BIG. This is also accounts as one of the largest foreign direct investment to be completed in India. This also means a bigger competition for the rest of the mobile operators in the country.
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Is Vodafone over charging you for data while other Vodafone users get more for less?
- Category: Vodafone
- Tuesday, 29 March 2011 13:09
- Written by Nikhil Pai
Not very long ago we had reported how expensive Vodafone’s data plans were in India & how they continued to offer limited WAP packages (Vodafone Live) at rates at which competitors provided full fledged internet services. We are happy to note that the situation has changed ever since, possibly due to Mobile Number Portability (MNP) setting in. But there is a catch! Vodafone won’t migrate you to these newer plans automatically unless you ask for it. So if you are unaware of the new plans you continue to pay extravagantly for data services.
We will explain this with illustrations:
Case 1: Earlier, Vodafone offered its Vodafone Mobile Connect (VMC) plan in Mumbai for Rs.499 per month with 500MB of monthly usage included. Vodafone has subsequently introduced new plans in Mumbai circle offering 2GB data for Rs.299 per month. Now Vodafone will not migrate you to this plan unless you make a request to do so & will instead keep you on its older & more expensive plan!
Case 2: Earlier, Vodafone offered its Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) in Mumbai for Rs.899 per month. The prices have subsequently been slashed to offer the same plan for Rs.599 per month for Postpaid users. Again, Vodafone will not migrate you to this new cheaper plan unless you register a request to do so. Most of the users in this instance are corporate users under corporate plans & are being over charged by Vodafone.
It’s sad to see a reputed operator such as Vodafone follow such practices! Those users who are aware about reduced data plans enjoy more data for lower charges while the unaware ones continue to pay more for less data! In the past too, Vodafone has been pulled up by TRAI for offering cheaper talk plans to only those customers who send a request via SMS to activate the cheaper plan for no additional charge. Sadly Vodafone continues to follow such malpractices till date for its data plans!
Vodafone 3G speed analysis in Pune
- Category: Vodafone
- Tuesday, 22 March 2011 22:56
- Written by Mihir Patil
After Tata Docomo, Vodafone has launched their 3G services in Maharashtra (Pune). Vodafone 3G signals were live in Pune since 2 months but the network was not getting latched. Today, finally the network was latched to Vodafone 3G network after sending a sms in following format:
ACT 3G to 111
We got the following reply from Vodafone:
3G and Video Calling service is now active on your phone. You will continue to be charged as per your current data plan. Local Video call charges are Rs 3/min. Offer valid till 10th April 2011.
Following are the speed results conducted at 22:45 on 22/3/2011.
The Speed Test was conducted on Nokia N8 which supports HSDPA of 10.2 Mbps and HSUPA of 2 Mbps.
Vodafone becomes the most valuable UK brand and the most valuable global telecoms brand
- Category: Vodafone
- Monday, 21 March 2011 16:52
- Written by MobiGyaan Team
Everybody loves the little pug and those adorable Zoozoos. Yes I am talking about Vodafone. Vodafone UK has been ranked as the 5th most powerful brand in the world. And that is not all; they are also the only telecom company and the only British brand in the top ten followed fixed line US telecom brand AT&T on the 10th and US telecom services provider Verizon on the 12th place.
The ranking has been done by Brand Finance Global with about 500 major brands including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, GE, and many more. It is one of the most comprehensive brand value league tables which rank the most valuable brands across all major markets.
Vodafone came into the Indian market in 2007 when Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for $11.1 billion, piping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at $18.8 billion. Vodafone’s investments in Africa and Australia have continued to boost its global brand presence, with its joint venture in Australia now fully transitioned to the Vodafone brand. Despite being the world’s most valuable mobile telecoms brand, there is still further potential upside, principally across its partner market network, now present in over 40 markets, which could return more value from the brand to both Vodafone and its partners.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance commented, ‘‘Vodafone’s presence in the top ten is testament to the UK’s ability to grow and nurture great brands despite a tough economic climate. From a global perspective, five of the top ten largest growers are technology-related companies, reinforcing the importance of embracing technological innovation to give a seamless, value-enhancing brand experience. We have found that, across many leading companies, senior management are increasingly using brand valuation dashboards to monitor the health of their brands throughout the year in order to make better informed strategic marketing decisions. This trend is likely to continue as the sheer size of these brand values becomes impossible to ignore.’’
Vodafone Launches R201- MiFi Device in India
- Category: Vodafone
- Monday, 14 March 2011 17:50
- Written by MobiGyaan Team
Vodafone Essar is making news all over. With the recent the launch of 3G services by the company, it’s now a 3G device. They have announced a small Wi-Fi device called the R201 at a cost of Rs. 5500. The device enables a user to create a Wi-Fi Network through a 3G enabled SIM and up to five users can connect simultaneously. The device has a SIM slot and can provide speeds of upto 7.2 Mbps on HSPDA devices and a bettery life of 4 hours.
"The Vodafone R201 is designed to provide customers with an advantage of connecting and communicating on-the-go. As a result of our innovation effort, we at Vodafone are introducing an exciting range of products to let our customers experience 3G services at its best," said Vodafone Essar Chief Marketing Officer Kumar Ramanathan.
Vodafone 3G Tariff Leaked [Updated]
- Category: Vodafone
- Monday, 28 February 2011 16:50
- Written by Puneet Jain
Vodafone 3G tariffs are out. A guy on twitter shared an image in which details of Vodafone 3G tariffs can be seen. The image looks like a legitimate one. If the details in that image are to be believed then Vodafone will be offering 3G plans starting at Rs. 100
Checkout the image
Right now we do not have any details of Vadafone 3G Prepaid tariff, but we expect it to be same as the postpaid tariffs with probably some minor differences in price.
What do you think about Vodafone 3G tariff?
Source
Update : One of our readers shared details of Vodafone 3G Prepaid tariff. Thanks Sajitha for sharing Vodafone 3G Prepaid tariff details. Here are the details :
Plans for smartphone users
Rs. 100 – 100MB
Rs. 375 – 500MB
Rs. 850 – 3GB
Rs 1250 – 5GB
Rs. 500 – 500MB + 500 Minutes talk time + 500 SMS
Rs. 1000 – 1000 MB + 1000 Minutes talk time + 1000 SMS
Plans for mobile broadband users
Rs. 650 – 1GB
Rs. 850 – 3GB
Rs. 1250 – 5GB
Rs. 3250 – 6 GB for 180 days
Rs. 4250 – 18 GB for 180 days
Rs. 6250 – 30 GB for 180 days
Vodafone 3G is here [Updated]
- Category: Vodafone
- Sunday, 27 February 2011 19:35
- Written by Puneet Jain
It seems Vodafone has launched its 3G services. I saw the ads many times during the India vs England Cricket World Cup match, apart from this Vodafone has also updated its Facebook Page along with its official website. Though we are still waiting for official communication of 3G launch from Vodafone.
Vodafone has not revealed any details of its 3G data plans but its customers can experience 3G by filling a form available on vodafone.in. From this it seems Vodafone will initially offer free 3G trial before formally announcing its 3G data plans.
If you have not seen the new Vodafone 3G ad, then check it out
Update : Vodafone has not yet launched its 3G services commercially. Vodafone is testing its 3G services is various cities so you may see a 3G signal on your mobile. A Vodafone official said “Vodafone plans to rollout 3G services by the end of March. 3G services will be available across all circles with roll-out starting from select cities”
Zoozoos set to enter office space
- Category: Vodafone
- Thursday, 24 February 2011 13:28
- Written by Surbhi Chawla
Vodafone Essar has announced that it plans to now foray into the leased landline and business solutions space. Vodafone, which offers these services in other parts of the world including its home turf in UK is now planning to use its expertise in this domain and customize it according to the Indian needs. Though enterprise segment is a more lucrative segment but there’s already many established players like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, BSNL and Tata Communications vying for a greater share of consumer pie and it will not be as easy for Vodafone Essar to establish itself.However, this telecom service provider is quite confident as of now and says that “it has nothing to lose” and has already given indications of price wars now entering into this segment as well. Being bullish about its new plans Vodafone Essar is hoping that by the end ofMarch of 2016 its enterprise business will be accounting for almost 20% of its revenue.
Source
Vodafone brings Live Cricket World Cup Streaming on Mobile
- Category: Vodafone
- Monday, 21 February 2011 15:58
- Written by MobiGyaan Team
Cricket World Cup has just begun! The cricket fever is slowly catching on. For people on the go, for working professionals and for people who cannot watch or browse cricket commentary live, Vodafone has come to the rescue. Being the one and only gadget that is with everyone at all the time, Mobile Phone is a perfect medium to catch-up with live cricket scores.Vodafone announced the availability of "ICC Cricket world cup live streaming service" for mobile phones. You get access to live streaming video of world cup cricket matches via Vodafone’s ICC Cricket World Cup – Live Streaming service at the rate of Rs. 7 per day. However, this is just the rate for a subscription to the service – for the video streaming, you will have to pay data charges as usual. You can this service in roaming as well.
To watch cricket matches, Vodafone subscribers should download and install Vodafone TV application. So, atleast a GPRS capable cell phone is required to download the application. To download, you need to send an SMS to 111 with message 'TV'.
Some of the salient features of this plan are as follows:
- Enjoy live coverage
- Quick highlights: Watch highlights of previous matches.
- Scoreboard
- Cricket News
- Schedule
- Group Table
- Fast channel switching - Allows to quickly switching across multiple channels.
- Electronic program guide.
Also, in case you want to see all the channels available at Vodafone TV you have to pay Rs. 150 per month.
Also Read
How to receive Free World Cup 2011 SMS Alerts
Vodafone brings Callertunes to Facebook
- Category: Vodafone
- Monday, 21 February 2011 13:57
- Written by MobiGyaan Team
Vodafone has announced the launch of 'Vodafone Callertune share', a Callertune application on Facebook. ‘Vodafone Callertune share’ is a first of its kind application through which Vodafone customers can search for, preview and set their Callertune on Facebook and post it to their wall to let their friends share the music they love.It is powered by Onmobile Global Ltd, through which Vodafone customers can search for their favourite songs from a bank of 3.5 lakh songs across Bollywood, Regional and International genres and also browse through personalized song recommendations. They can hear the song and set it as their Callertune which will automatically be shared with their friends on their Facebook wall. Customers can also see what Callertunes their friends have and Copy their favorite ones. They can also recommend Callertunes to friends though this application and allow them to copy the Callertunes by simply clicking the post on the wall.
This application is available to Vodafone Customers at only standard subscription changes and helps them celebrate their interests and love for music with friends on a social platform. To start using this application, customers need to register their Vodafone mobile numbers on the facebook application ‘Vodafone Callertune share’.
