Vodafone Idea Is Now VI; Prepaid & Postpaid Price Hike Soon As It Battles Reliance Jio And Airtel

0
Vodafone Idea has revealed its new integrated brand identity – Vi (read as ‘We’), using just the initials of both Vodafone and Idea. It is now shorter, simpler, and references both brands. The development was shared during a virtual conference that was livestreamed, revealing the new brand that has been designed for the digital era. After two years of the Vodafone and Idea merger that took place on August 31, 2018, and the new Vi brand emphasises the final stage of the integration. The new branding has been updated on the website and app, and will make its way to all products including SIM cards, bills, billboards, and more.
Ravinder Takkar, MD and CEO at Vodafone Idea Limited, said, “Vodafone Idea came together as a merged entity two years ago. We have since then focusses on integrating two large networks, our people, and processes. And today I am delighted to present Vi, an brand that will bring important meaning to lives of our customers. Indians are optimistic and want to get ahead in life. They would love a credible partner to help them on this journey. Vi’s positioning is built around this promise and will focus on meeting the customer needs to help them thrive.”
Takkar added that Vi not only marks the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but kicks off a journey to bring “world class digital experience” to 1 billion Indians on 4G network. The deployment of many principles of 5G architecture has helped the brand become a “future-fit, digital network” for the customers.
The company has also revealed a ‘Happy Surprises’ program that rewards people with daily prizes for spotting the new logo in the Vi app. Additionally, mobile users can create and download their own customised Vi Tune through the Vi app or MyVi.in.
VI also says they will continue to partner with the government of India to push forward the digital economy mission. Traditionally, Idea has been stronger with a large chunk of its user base in the tier-II and tier-III towns in India, while Vodafone has remained focused on the urban regions, the tier-I towns. However, the tariff wars have seen Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel gain over the past few quarters and Vodafone Idea struggled with declining revenue. VI has now integrated network operations in 19 telecom circles across India, including merging the 4G network.
“In their various avatars, since the mid-90s, Vodafone and Idea steered the growth of the sector for over decades separately. Both Vodafone and Idea have set new benchmarks in network experience, rural connectivity, customer service, enterprise mobility solutions,” says Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, announcing the rebranding.
But there could be tariff hikes along the way for prepaid and postpaid users, as VI looks to increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) figures. At this time, VI’s ARPU is around Rs 114, which is significantly lower compared to Reliance Jio which has around Rs 140 ARPU from its user base while Airtel clocks in with around Rs 157. VI has not announced any new prepaid plans or postpaid plans at this time, though we can expect some new tariff options in the coming days. At this time, Vodafone Idea prepaid plans with 28 days validity start at Rs 49 while the postpaid plans under the Vodafone RED branding are priced Rs 399 onwards. The Vodafone RED X plan, which has been under the TRAI scanner, is priced at Rs 1,099 per month and bundles multiple offers along with the promise of better data speeds on the 4G network.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here