Vodafone India, the nation’s second largest cellco by subscribers, has begun offering customers in Gujarat 4G-ready SIMs, in preparation for the imminent commercial launch of its 1800MHz LTE service in the circle. The Economic Times writes that the provider has made 4G SIMs available in all of its stores and ‘Mini Stores’ as well as more than 10,000 multi-brand outlets across the state. The SIMs are being offered free of charge through an exchange process for existing customers, who can then continue to use their existing plans and will be automatically upgraded to 4G when the network is activated. Commenting on the plan, Vodafone’s head of business for Gujarat, Jayesh Gadia, said: ‘We want our customers to be 4G ready so that they can start experiencing the benefits of high speed mobile internet services as soon as they are launched commercially.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Vodafone India launched its LTE network in December 2015 and has extended the system to Mumbai, Kerala, Karnataka, Delhi and Kolkata. Following its launch in Gujarat, the cellco is planning to activate LTE networks in Uttar Pradesh East and West Bengal by the end of August.