Telecom operator Vodafone today reported increase of about 10 per cent in its services revenue at Rs 10,323 crore in first quarter ended June 30, 2014-15. “India Service revenue increased 10.3 per cent, driven by continued customer growth, strong data usage and improved voice pricing,” the UK-based Vodafone said in its financial report.
The company had registered revenue of about Rs 9,375 crore in the April-June period of the last fiscal, 2013-14. Vodafone India revenue in terms of GBP, however, declined by about 6 per cent due to about 17 per cent dip in value of the rupee against British pound. During the first quarter, the company’s mobile customers increased by 3.3 million taking its total customer base to 169.9 million.
Vodafone India saw increase in Internet services by 102 per cent during the quarter, primarily driven by mobile Internet customer growth and 46 per cent increase in usage per customer. As of June 30, active Internet customers of Vodafone India stood at 57 million, including 10 million 3G customers and 29 million smartphone users representing 17 per cent penetration of the customer base, the report said.
Vodafone has plans to increase 3G coverage in the country to 95 per cent at its targeted urban centres from 89 per cent coverage at present over period of next 2 years. “In India, where we aim to have 95% 3G outdoor coverage in targeted urban areas over the next two years, we have taken 3G coverage on this footprint to 89%, with a further 2,305 sites added,” the report said.
