India's No 2 cellular service provider Vodafone India and No 3 Idea Cellular Ltd are likely to join hands in a merger. Buzz has it that the talks have been on for some time in the wake of heightened margins pressure after the entry of Reliance Jio in the telecom sector.
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Also, it is expected that Vodafone and Idea will go ahead with the merger to protect their profitability on the back of the freebies (mobile internet and VoLTE calling) war started by Jio.
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Earlier, Vodafone had spoken about its plans for an IPO, but with Jio's entry, it had to withhold that. The merger is also seen as a step to counter the country's biggest and strongest operator - Bharti Airtel. It also witnessed a 55 per cent dip in its profits in the quarter ending December 30, 2016.
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Also, CLSA in a report published earlier in January said that merging with Idea Cellular will be the best option for Vodafone India. If it happens, at all, will benefit both in their operational strengths and will also lead to a backdoor listing of its business without going through an IPO process.
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Meanwhile, Vodafone has recently announced as much as four times more data for prepaid Vodafone Supernet 4G customers, however, the prices of data packs would vary from circle to circle. According to the new offer, a Rs 150 data pack will offer 1GB of data with a validity of a month, Rs 250 pack will provide 4GB data while Rs 1,500 data pack will give 35GB of data in a month.
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