Vi Might Join Hands With OEMs And Finance Companies For Affordable Smartphones: Report

Vi (Vodafone-Idea) is reportedly planning to bring affordable smartphones in the country. The telecom operator is working with OEMs and finance companies to launch new devices. Notably, this is not the first time that any telecom company has planned on bringing bundle devices in the country. Earlier, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea joined hands with several handset players to offer data benefits to its prepaid users.

This comes a day after Reliance Jio announced its plans to offer content, shopping, discounts benefits on the upcoming Vivo smartphones, especially the Y1s. The Vivo Y1s smartphone is expected to be available under Rs. 8,000.

Vodafone-Idea has lost millions of customers, ever since the merger has been announced. So, joining hands with OEMs and finance companies are likely to help the operator to attract new users towards its network. Additionally, the company is looking for more partnerships and offers for its prepaid and postpaid customers.

"Having established Pan-India 4G coverage for 1 billion Indians and delivering the fastest 4G speeds, Vi is now bringing in a range of new-age service offerings to address the digital shift in customer behavior," said Ravinder Takkar, chief executive, Vodafone Idea was quoted by Mint.

Vi Might Lose More Customers In Coming Days

Apart from joining hands with companies, the telecom operator is planning to increase its tariffs soon. However, its plans to raise tariffs might reduce its customer base in the coming days. On the other hand, the analysts believe that the company might increase prices in few circles initially.

"On a standalone basis, Vi cannot sustain a tariff hike as it may end up losing more subscribers. Tariff hike has to be on an industry level (all three players raising within 45 days) and, if not, then it may have to roll back the increased prices due to acceleration in subscriber loss," said Rajiv Sharma, head of equity research, SBI CAP Securities said.