In a first for an Indian telecom company, Videocon has announced a scheme to give all new female subscribers 1GB of free data. Under this plan, users will get 100MB of data monthly for 10 months.
If you’re wondering why only female subscribers get this benefit, Videocon Telecom claims that internet usage among women is lesser than men, and this initiative comes under an effort to empower them to use it more. PTI reports that the company has also provided for unlimited access to the government’s National Portal of India.
Both these offerings will be available from July 16. They arrive after the company launched plans last week to give 750MB of free data to non-internet users for a period of two months. All these schemes have come about as Videocon’s response to the Prime Minister’s Digital India movement.
Also Read: Videocon invests 340cr to deliver Internet services all across India
According to the telecom company, over 86% of its non-users want to use the internet on their smartphones. They are reluctant to do so because of inadequate knowledge, reluctance to ask for help and the view of data costs being high.
As a way of reassuring such first-time users, Videocon has organized a dedicated helpline for them. It’s meant to answer their queries in relation to data costs and usage assistance. The corporation hopes these initiatives will serve to further improve penetration of the internet in India.
A female-centric scheme like this might go a long way in encouraging women to take up using data in their phones. 100MB a month isn’t a lot, but should suffice for new users. Videocon has made a move to tap into a previously untargeted segment of the market and we’ll have to wait and see whether other companies will follow suit.