Surat is Vodafone’s first 4G location in Gujarat. “We have launched this service symbolically from Surat. This year 206 towns will be covered in Gujarat, while nationally we plan to cover over 1,000 towns with our 4G network,” he said after the launch.
Vodafone has set its eyes on data revenues from 4G services, which it has already launched in Kerala, Karnataka, Kolkata, Delhi – NCR, Mumbai, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (East) and now Gujarat.
About 70 per cent of Vodafone India’s data revenues come from nine circles. For the first quarter of the current fiscal, the total service revenue stood at Rs. 11,412 crore, 6.4 per cent growth over the same period last year.
The company invested about Rs. 8,000 crore towards capex last year. In Gujarat, the company had invested about Rs. 541 crore. “We will invest a similar amount this year towards network expansion,” Sood said, adding that the company has so far invested Rs. 1,15,500 crore.