Reliance Jio has taken over the market, it has created a frenzy in the nation with its lucrative offers. The other telecom companies couldn’t simply sit and wait for Jio to take over them. With the launch of Reliance Jio, the tariff war is officially on. With telecom companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and BSNL, trying their best to come up with plans and offers which can help them get their customers back. Every company is coming up with attractive data offers, cheap tariff plans to top Reliance Jio.
The telecom war has taken an interesting turn, two telecom giants have come together to compete with Reliance Jio. This Sunday Vodafone and BSNL announced their partnership on a 2G intra-circle roaming agreement (ICR). This agreement would allow their customers to enjoy many benefits, to provide better telecom services and to help reduce call drops. BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava spoke to PTI and said,
“The agreement will enhance coverage for both Vodafone and BSNL customers. Next month, we will jointly provide seamless connectivity at the BRICS summit, which is to be held in Goa.This partnership with Vodafone will help us make our network coverage better, especially in urban areas”
India has about 104 crore mobile users. BSNL is currently on the 5th position in terms of mobile subscribers in June. BSNL has a wide reach in rural areas, this partnership would help BSNL expand its reach in the urban areas. Currently Vodafone has over 1,37,000 towers across the country and the number of towers BSNL has is more than 1,14,000. Vodafone issued an statement,
“Vodafone and BSNL today signed a 2G intra-circle roaming agreement to use each other’s assets and network strength across the country. This strategic partnering will lead to improved connectivity and enhance the customer experience overall.”
This agreement will help Vodafone in expanding its reach in the rural areas. Vodafone India MD and CEO Sunil Sood said,
“We made significant investments to expand, enhance and upgrade our network, making Vodafone SuperNet our best network ever, world-class and future-fit. This partnership with BSNL will further strengthen the reach of our network, especially in the hinterland and surrounding rural areas.”
Vodafone India is a subsidiary of the UK’s Vodafone Group. It has around 199 million customers base. This partnership will benefit both the private operator Vodafone India and the state-owned BSNL.
So guys what do you think, can they defeat Jio? Share your views and opinions in the comments!