Do you know about Operator Vodafone-Idea Limited or commonly known as Vi? That's right! Vodafone Idea is a merger of two well-known operators in India, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. Although some Indians are still confused about the difference between Vodafone, Idea and Vi. Many of them considered these operators as a different operator that is still available until now. So, today we will discuss the history and the purposes of the new Vodafone-Idea operator.
After previously standing under their quite popular brand names, in March 2017 the two operators decided to join and submit the application. The merger got approval from the Department of Telecommunications in July 2018 and their merger process was completed on August 31, 2020 with the share of 45.2% for Vodafone Group and 26% for Aditya Birla Group (Idea) and the rest will be held by the public. The merger of these 2 operators resulted in the largest operator based on the amount of revenue and their subscribers (over 408 million subscribers). Even though they had lost many users after the merger, Vodafone-Idea was back again as the 3rd largest mobile telecommunications network in India and 10th largest mobile telecommunications network in the world on 30 September 2021 with their motto 'Together for Tomorrow'.
After the merger process was completely over, these operators were still using their own brand names and operating separately until September 7, 2020:
- Vodafone is a postpaid & prepaid GSM service;
- Idea is a prepaid GSM service, similar to Vodafone prepaid.
Beside providing internet service, Vi also comes with other flagship products such as mobile payments, entertainment and so on which you can see here.
Rebranding
The main question after the merger is, how to take the step that they are taking as a fresh air that will improve their position in the market? How can they maintain and improve the legacy of these two operators while presenting new innovations to their customers? We will discuss them one by one in this paragraph.
We found an explanation of our questions by Kavita Nair, Chief Digital Transformation and Brand Officer, Vodafone Idea. They want to carry forward the legacy of the two brands. They also want to create a new and vibrant edge to reflect the changing times and changing consumer needs. So their task is to create something unique while inheriting the legacy that is suitable for the future. They think this is an opportunity to form a new brand, and at the same time carry forward their legacy with them.
Their new trademark is called Vi, which is more than just an acronym for Vodafone and Idea.
They said that at first they thought it was the initials of Vodafone and Idea, but not only that it was also about how it should be pronounced. They don't want it to be just about the letter "V" and letter "I" coming together, but supposed to reflect the power of collaboration between them both. It is also about the bonds of friendship, family, community and business of Indian society. The new logo represents all of these. So it is not just an initial value.
For logo color selection, they don't choose randomly. Vi took the applied colors on their logo now from the two primary colors of the logo of each operator, dark red and mustard.
One of the goals of merging these two operators is to expand their subscriber reach. While Vodafone has customers in urban areas and Idea has customers in rural areas. By joining them, they hope that Vi can reach all locations without restrictions.
So now it's clear that you know the difference between Vodafone, Idea and Vi, right? So, if you are interested in trying Vi as your mobile operator, check on Pickaplan.in website and you can compare all the internet packages available in your circle and with the existing filters, choosing the right package will become even easier. Don't miss other interesting information on Pickaplan.in.
