Vodafone has begun 4G trials in selected areas across India, the company said in a statement today, adding that data revenue grew by 65% in the country during the months of April-June. The growth was spurred by the addition of 3.1 million new data customers, bringing its total tally to 66.8 million.
The company said emerging markets like India have maintained a strong momentum. According to data provided by them, smartphone penetration currently stands at 26% across the nation and 47% in the four metro circles. Vodafone further said they’ve gone from 10 million 3G customers to 22 million within the span of a year.
The UK-based company already has 24.1 million global 4G customers in 18 markets, with the service accounting for over 35% of data traffic in Europe. Airtel is the only telecom provider to support 4G in India currently, and is looking to expand its base. According to the Times of India (via IANS), Reliance Jio is planning to introduce the service by the end of the year, with Idea setting its target for 2016.
Voice traffic continues to grow even as data is becoming more prominent in India. Vodafone’s outgoing rate per minute has fallen further as a result of the increasing amount of competition it faces. The company bolstered its customer base by 1.6 million over the past year, bringing its total to 185.4 million. The telecom operator is the second biggest network provider in the country after Airtel.
Also See: Airtel trialing 4G network in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack
Vodafone had launched an initiative called Project Spring a few years ago. The scheme was valued at $3 to $4 billion and was started to better facilitate data technologies. The venture was primarily focused on 3G networks in emerging markets, with India being one of the biggest recipients of the project. The corporation said it added over 1000 2G sites and 1100 3G sites through the plan.