Vodafone inks pact with BSNL to boost 2G roaming

Private operator Vodafone and state-owned BSNL have inked a countrywide 2G intra-circle roaming agreement to provide better telecom services to their respective customers.

“Vodafone and BSNL today (Sunday) signed a 2G intra-circle roaming agreement to use each other’s assets and network strength across the country. This strategic partnering will lead to improved connectivity and enhance the customer experience overall,” Vodafone said in a statement.

Expanding 2G network

The agreement will help Vodafone expand its 2G network further, especially in rural areas and strengthens BSNL’s network reach in urban areas, it said. Vodafone India has over 1,37,000 towers across the country and BSNL has more than 1,14,000 towers.

“We want our hundreds of million customers to consistently enjoy a superior network experience and remain confidently connected, at all times, for all their voice and data needs,” said Vodafone India MD and CEO Sunil Sood said.

Vodafone has made significant investments to expand, enhance and upgrade its network, making SuperNet its best network ever, he added.

“This partnering with BSNL will further strengthen the reach of our network especially in the hinterland of the country and surrounding rural areas,” Sood said.

BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said, “We continue to expand our network across the country with more sites and sharing infrastructure with other telecom service providers.”

“This partnering with Vodafone will help us make our network coverage better, especially in urban areas, enabling our customers to have a better experience of our services,” he further said.

Vodafone India, a fully-owned subsidiary of the UK-based Vodafone Group, has operations across India serving over 199 million customers.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had a user-base of 89.54 million at the end of June, this year.