Vodafone India is reportedly working to unveil converged fast broadband solutions in India by bundling wired home broadband packs with 3G/4G mobile services, reports ET. Facing tough competition from Reliance Jio and Airtel, Vodafone is reportedly making a lot of changes and “plan revisions” to stay in the game. The telecom operator will be leveraging the fixed broadband resources of YOU Broadband, an internet service provider Vodafone acquired a year back.
Vodafone’s converged broadband solutions business model, using a combination of fixed-line broadband and wireless services are already popular in international markets such as the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. The service will soon be replicated in India by leveraging subsidiary YOU’s resources, amid surging data consumption levels a person with direct knowledge of the matter told ET.
Vodafone’s move comes at a time when Reliance Jio is testing its ultra-fast fibre-to-the-home Jio Fiber services in key data markets like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, ahead of its commercial launch likely later this year. JioFiber is expected to replicate the success of Jio 4G as users are already availing 100GB of free data per month.
Vodafone India had apparently acquired Mumbai-based YOU Broadband for Rs 400 crore. The wholly owned subsidiary has over 3,000 km of optic fibre cable and 17,000 km of last-mile coaxial wires to homes across 18 key data consuming markets, including Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Nagpur, Pune and Coimbatore.
“The addition of YOU Broadband positions us well to serve the growing demand for high-speed connectivity at home and perfectly complements Vodafone’s own nationwide data smart mobile network,” a Vodafone India spokesman said to the publication.
He said combining YOU Broadband’s resources will enable Vodafone India to “offer customers cutting-edge internet speeds and consistent experience for enabling seamless HD video streaming and browsing across multiple devices simultaneously”.
However, Vodafone spokesperson didn’t clarify under which brand they will offering the broadband services. With the introduction of JioFiber and Vodafone in the broadband sector, users can expect a further drop in prices from competitors like Airtel Broadband, ACT Fiber, BSNL, and MTNL to retain their customers.
