DataWind, who is known for their affordable tablets in India will be soon foraying into the telecom services as well. Recently, the company said that they would be investing Rs. 100 crore in the Indian telecom services in the first six months of getting the license. DataWind has applied for pan-India Virtual Network Operator (VNO) license in the country.
After receiving the license to provide mobile telephone and data services, the company will get into partnership with existing telecom operators in the country to offer the services. Also, DataWind is looking to disrupt the market by giving data for one year at just Rs. 200.
DataWind President and CEO Suneet Singh Tuli said to PTI, "We are hoping that we should get the license in a month or so. DataWind will invest Rs 100 in the first six months to launch the business with a focus on data services."
He also quoted that "Jio's Rs 300 plan is affordable for those who have been spending Rs 1,000-1,500 per month. This would be only top 300 million people. Rest of the people spend around Rs 90 a month, and for them, it's not that cheap. We will look at data plans around Rs 20 per month or lesser. One year of data service should not be more than Rs 200."
DataWind has launched its new 3G-enabled VidyaTab-Punjabi for Rs. 3,999 in Punjab and Tuli revealed some insights about their tablet business in India. Currently, DataWind has two manufacturing plants in India located in Hyderabad and Amritsar. The Hyderabad plant has a production capacity of 10,000 units tablets per day, whereas the Amritsar plant can afford up to 5000 units per day.
"We are eagerly looking at states to roll out their promise of giving mobile devices to people. We hope that states will not only look at affordable devices but also content bundled with them," Tuli further added. Furthermore, DataWind has collaborated with educational content and app maker Vismaad to add content to its newly announced VidyaTab.
