As the incumbent operators look to take on Reliance Jio and retain their customer base for feature phones, they are forging partnerships with handset makers so as to make smartphones affordable and within reach of a large section of society.
After Airtel, which has tied up with Karbonn to come out with a smartphone for an effective price of Rs 1,399, Vodafone has also forged a partnership with Micromax, wherein customers can own a 4G smartphone for Rs 999.
According to the Vodafone offer, existing and new Vodafone customers will have to buy the Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra smartphone by paying Rs 2,899 and if they recharge at least Rs 150 per month for 36 months, Rs 1,900 will be returned as cashback.
At the end of 18 months, users will receive a cashback of Rs 900 and after another 18 months, a cashback of Rs 1,000, in their Vodafone M-Pesa wallets. Vodafone has not provided a specific plan for the Micromax offer and people buying the device can recharge with existing offers of the company.
As the company is targeting feature phone users, who usually recharge with amounts starting at Rs 10, Vodafone has allowed the flexibility for users to choose recharges of any denomination but to avail the offer, a minimum of Rs 150 should be spent in a month, or Rs 2,700 in 18 months.
Avneesh Khosla, associate director — Consumer Business, Vodafone India, said, “Through our partnership with Micromax, we have democratised 4G smartphones at a price of under Rs 999. This will help fulfill the aspirations of several million phone users across the country who desire a smartphone but couldn’t afford one.”