Vodafone plans to cover all villages in Bengal

Vodafone is looking at extending its network coverage to all the 39 villages in West Bengal in a year's time from now, said Sridhar Rao, Vodafone CEO - East, at a press conference in Kolkata.

Rao did not disclose investment figures for additional coverage.

At present it covers close to 30 villages in the region.

Vodafone will add close to 60 cell sites in Kolkata.

At present, it has 1,400 cell sites in Kolkata and 1,900 in Bengal.

The company also plans to launch Vodafone-branded GSM phones priced at Rs 1,199.

Vodafone also announced its Durga Puja initiatives in West Bengal for this year, in an attempt to push its subscriber base in the region as well as connect with its consumers emotionally.

For the first time this year, Vodafone will offer live updates in partnership with Radio Mirchi.

Vodafone has also announced 'Jogajoger Utsab' for customers in Kolkata. This would commence with Aagomoni, a musical extravaganza on October 9.

Jogajoger Utsav is also an assortment of products and programmes that includes value-added services, musical evenings, privilege booklets and performances by renowned artists and musicians.

Vodafone will also offer value-added services showcasing Durga Puja pictures, stories, ringtones and callertunes.

Vodafone will also initiate musical evenings across eight locations in the city. These locations will be determined through a contest prior to Durga Puja.

The company will also distribute puja privilege booklets to all its post paid customers this month.

Vodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86 per cent of India's mobile customer base, with over 34.1 million customers.