Vodafone has launched its 4G LTE services in Kochi, Kerala in India, as expected. It is based on 1800MHz FDD-LTE band 3, which the company acquired last year. It is offering free 4G upgrade with a SIM, with a trial pack of 120MB at Rs 29 and a bonanza pack of 20GB at Rs. 2499. Vodafone 4G services will be available to customers in Kochi starting from December 14. Vodafone already announced that it will roll out 4G services in Trivandrum and Kozhikode in Kerala in the first wave of the roll-out in a phased manner.
Vodafone said that it’s 4G is built on a strong fibre backhaul. It announced that it will increase the intensity of its 4G rollout covering important metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata in the first phase, and also said that it has already started testing 4G services in these cities.
For its customers in Kochi, Vodafone is offering special benefits like:
- Free upgrade to 4G for all Vodafone customers in Kochi along with 4G SIM
- Free unlimited movie subscription through a partnership with Hungama Play for 3 months
- Free unlimited music streaming on Vodafone Music
- 100% Extra Data – for all 4G RED customers for 3 months
- Instant SIM swap at all Vodafone stores and select retail outlets
- Request for 4G SIM through call centre and SMS <4GSIM to 199>
- Same day door-step delivery of postpaid 4G SIMs (for requests received before 4:00pm that day)
Commenting on the launch, Sunil Sood, MD & CEO, Vodafone India said:
The launch of ultrafast 4G services in India will give customers the power to experience the most advanced wireless broadband experience available across the world.Vodafone’s global expertise and experience of launching 4G across 19 countries gives it a better understanding of this technology and the needs of the 4G customer.
Speaking on the 4G proposition for Kerala, Abhijit Kishore, business head – Kerala, Vodafone India said:
Kerala is a significant growth market for Vodafone India with data revenue growing over 75 percent annually, which is well above the national average. We are proud and delighted that Vodafone has chosen Kochi as the first city in India to launch 4G. We will soon expand our 4G service to Trivandrum and Kozhikode and continue to pursue our customer centric strategy of catering to the evolving needs of retail and enterprise customers for better and smarter solutions for both voice and data.