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Vodafone India builds on Rs 300 crore fillip in Karnataka

Over the past 12 months, Vodafone has added 17 Vodafone Stores and 50 Vodafone Mini Stores in Karnataka

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Nandita Singh
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Atanu Batabyal, Vodafone India

By Nandita Singh

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BENGALURU: Customer Experience. Customer Experience… and Customer Experience. Those are the three principles Vodafone India is integrating further in its business strategy and operations with a strong focus on network and retail.

Soon after declaring the financial results for FY 2015, recently made public in May for the full year period ending March 31, 2015, the telco is gearing up across circles to consolidate its leadership position.

In the Voice&Data top telco tally in FY 2014, Vodafone India held fast onto its No 2 position after Bharti Airtel. However, the competitive landscape is in a flux not just because of impending entry of RJio in the market but also because of the unique dynamics of the India market and the high number of operators vying for the same subscriber base.

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At a press conference in Bengaluru, today, Atanu Batabyal, Head of Karnataka Circle at Vodafone, shared how he and his team are strengthening the network and retail in Karnataka, a southern state of India, which currently has a Vodafone subscriber base of 67 lakh, according to statistics released by the company. Vodafone added 400 sites in Karnataka in the fiscal ending March 31, 2015 taking the total number of sites in the state to well over 9,000.

“Mobile internet is a strategic growth driver for the circle,” said Batabyal. He elaborated that currently, data contributes 17% of the total service revenue of the Karnataka circle. Karnataka is one of the top 4 circles for Vodafone India that clocked total revenue of Rs 42,352 crore in FY 2015.

“We see tremendous potential in this area and have been taking the lead in democratizing data by hand holding customers on the ease and benefits of mobile internet usage,” said Batabyal talking about how the company has integrated customer service in its operations and is addressing customer expectations right from robust network, to value for money, to better service throughout the engagement period.

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Over the past 12 months, Vodafone has added 17 Vodafone Stores and 50 Vodafone Mini Stores in the region.

Currently, in Karnataka, Vodafone has more than 869 retail touch points including 60 Vodafone stores, 176 Vodafone Mini Stores and over 633 DDVMS and ADVMS (rural mini stores). Besides, its Global Design Retail Stores that provide uniform customer experience throughout are a result of adapting and customizing a suite of customer insights for India. There are 21 of these stores in Karnataka providing customers the full range of services at one point.

In FY 2015, the company invested Rs 300 crore in strengthening the infrastructure in Karnataka. With the addition of 6,800 km of optic fibre and 400+ sites Vodafone India now covers 13,850 towns and villages in the state. And given the fact that after recent spectrum auctions, the company expanded its own 3G spectrum from 9 to 16 circles, the QoS is likely to improve to meet customer expectation of a seamless experience.

vodafone mobile-internet karnataka
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