Vodafone India invests over Rs300 crore in Karnataka

After its Rs750-crore capex to beef up its network in Tamil Nadu, Vodafone India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK's Vodafone Group, has invested more than Rs300 crore to ramp up network and distribution in the Karnataka circle. The investment is part of the GSM operator's initiative to be 'Future Ready'.

Vodafone India has added more than 400 new sites and 67 retail touch points during the year, and now has 9,250 2G sites across 13,850 towns and villages. The company now covers more than 76 per cent of the region's population, it said in a statement.

''Gaining the trust of our customers and winning their hearts through innovative, customised, cost effective and relevant products and services, is a priority for us at Vodafone. We have been activating this at the ground level by pursuing a continued and consistent customer centric strategy to bring the best connectivity solutions to our valued customers,'' said Atanu Batabyal, business head (Karnataka) of Vodafone India.

''Our investments over the past year have been directed at putting in place a network that our customers can rely upon, especially in the interior regions. We have simultaneously expanded our retail and distribution network to get closer to customers across urban and rural geographies,'' he added.

Vodafone India is also ensuring a seamless 3G roaming experience for its customers across an additional 161 towns and villages in Karnataka.

Mobile Internet continues to be a key strategic growth driver for the circle, it said, adding the company has taken a series of ground level activities to increase awareness and adoption of data services.

This has resulted in Data revenues rising significantly at a growth rate of 68 per cent YoY. Data now contributes to 17 per cent of total service revenues of Karnataka circle, it said.