Voda woos youth with prepaid data

The company is offering free music downloads, data credit and attractive voice tariffs for three buddies on the Vodafone network

If you are a young user of mobile data and are perennially stuck because you have run out of credit, then Vodafone has the answer for all your problems. The country's second largest mobile operator is rolling out the red carpet for the young prepaid mobile users by offering free music downloads, data credit and attractive voice tariffs for three buddies on the Vodafone network. The comprehensive proposition is to drive data consumption of this segment, which currently consumes 400-500 MB of data per month and are among the heaviest users of mobile internet.

The company claims it has always delivered products that have been the need of their consumers and 'Vodafone U' is merely in response to such a need. The company has identified 18-24 years age segment as a key a target audience and the new product attempts to meet their needs in a holistic way. Through the MyVodafone app this segment will be able to download songs for free (data charges will apply) and register three buddies for special tariffs. The app will also allow them to segment and choose their data consumption pattern (by night and day) and pay accordingly for it. And if they run out of data, they can get a data credit of 60 MB which will be debited when they next top up their account. The company is offering special night allowance to youngsters to browse the internet.

Commenting on the product, Sandeep Kataria, director - commercial, Vodafone India said: "India's youth are vocal and social media savvy. Today's youth is comfortable with technology and the mobile phone plays a central role in their life, both as a command centre as well as a companion. Vodafone U is designed to facilitate this unique relationship in a seamless and enriching way."

Mobile operators are working on multiple fronts to increase data consumption, which has been growing at a slower pace in recent times. This move is also aimed at driving data higher usage by engaging with them through a variety of options on entertainment.