In Battle for Digital India, Vodafone Teams Up With Idea Cellular -<br />By MARK SCOTTMARCH 20, 2017<br />The fight took another turn on Monday when Vodafone, a British carrier, announced<br />that it was combining its Indian unit with Idea Cellular, a local operator, in a $23 billion deal that would create one of the world’s largest cellphone providers, with roughly 400 million subscribers in India.<br />“The survival of 10 to 12 local operators isn’t a long-term reality.”<br />Under the terms of the deal announced on Monday, Vodafone<br />and Idea would merge their operations in India to create the country’s largest carrier, with roughly 35 percent of the market, based on subscriber figures.<br />“My wife and kids live here with me, but I video chat with my brothers in my village.”<br />The explosion of internet usage has created cutthroat competition among carriers seeking ever faster mobile networks<br />and cheaper data packages in a country where consumers are particularly sensitive to price.<br />Reliance Industries, an Indian oil conglomerate, is plowing billions of dollars into<br />a new cellphone operation called Jio that offers free data and voice plans.<br />While many in India already have so-called feature phones — rudimentary devices with limited, or no, access to the<br />web — operators are trying to coax people to invest in budget smartphones that can take advantage of mobile data.
