We had recently reported that Vodafone has started giving out 4G ready SIM cards to its customers in exchange of their existing SIM cards. The market is dominated by Airtel in Delhi at the moment and other key players have been MIA for a very long time. Not happy with Airtel’s monopoly in Delhi-NCR region, Vodafone has launched its high-speed 4G services in Gurgaon at the moment and will be launching it subsequently in other Delhi-NCR areas to transition its customers from 3G to the world of 4G.
The transition will happen in phases throughout the capital region, as communicated by Vodafone. Full rollout can be expected by the end of March 2016 or beginning of April 2016, although no timelines have been disclosed yet.
Huawei has been chosen as the 4G network provider for Vodafone in Delhi-NCR. Vodafone claims to have invested Rs 800 Crores in Delhi-NCR to create an established infrastructure for the service. Vodafone won the auction for its 4G network on 1800MHz band, which is more optimized for high-speed data services. Airtel, on the other hand, is employing its services on a slightly degraded band of 2300MHz.
Vodafone has also launched its high-speed internet service in Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata. Naveen Chopra, Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India talked about the much awaited launch in the capital region, “Initial response from customers who have experienced our 4G services in Kerala, Karnataka, and Kolkata has been positive and encouraging.”
Vodafone India also aims to have a full rollout of 4G services this year in five important circles: Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata. Field testing of 4G has already started in Mumbai and Bangalore and customers can hope to get 4G services up and running by the mid of this year.
How to get Vodafone 4G on your smartphone
If you’re a Vodafone user in Delhi-NCR and your smartphone supports 4G LTE networks, then this is the best news you can hear from Vodafone this year. You will get a free SIM upgrade from your existing 3G enabled SIM from select Vodafone stores, which means instantaneous exchange and activation of the new SIM. In case you’re tied up with work or do not have a Vodafone store around you, you are eligible to get doorstep delivery at your convenience using the following options:
- Call Vodafone customer care number at 199 and request for a SIM delivered to you
- Send an SMS <4GSIM> to 199 to request for a 4G SIM upgrade
Vodafone has promised to deliver postpaid 4G SIMs at your doorstep on the same day if you request it before 4PM. SIM cards will be delivered on the next day if the request is post 4PM. This sounds quite generous on Vodafone’s part to deliver SIM cards to its customers without the hassles of leaving the house or office even once.
Vodafone 4G data plans
Vodafone 4G services come at the same price as its 3G services, which is exactly the same model as Airtel 4G. 1GB of data is priced at Rs. 297 with 28 days of validity. There are also trial packs available, for new users or for those who want to try and validate the service, with 35MB at Rs. 11 and 20GB at Rs. 2,499.
This allows the 3G users to enjoy 4G at exactly the same price but with super-fast speeds and better connectivity. Vodafone is also offering some introductory gifts along with the fast internet service. Along with new 4G SIM cards, Vodafone has bundled three months free subscription to Vodafone Play, Vodafone Music, Hungama Play and Hooq Video. For such services, you’ll have to go for slightly expensive plans, nevertheless they will be worth it.
We all know Vodafone has not kept with its promised timelines and matters got delayed by nearly a month or so, but let’s start 2016 with a fresh concept of 4G. Vodafone customers should be delighted by the services, as speeds should be relatively faster owing to high-optimized frequency band. Even though the rollout will be in phases in Delhi, users should be able to get access to 4G in a month or two. Let us know your experience with Vodafone 4G services!
[Image: Shutterstock.com]
Don’t use Vodafone, its British company. Use Airtel, idea cellular, Bsnl, reliance, Reliance Jio. It will increase Indian economy.
Dont bark mind ur own business. Why dont u stop using internet it was developed by Dod (America) why dont u stop using cellphone it was not an indian development aswell, why dont u stop wearing shirts and pants wear dhoti. Stop eating fast food. Eat aata and ghobi. Bc ch*utiya.