Offers a prepaid card for customers with hearing and speech disability
Kolkata, December 03, 2007: Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers, today on the occasion of World Disability Day, announced a unique prepaid Sambhav Card at Rs. 151 for customers with hearing and speech disability. This card enables them to use the phone purely for SMS purposes.
This card offers 500 local SMS for just Rs. 151 per month. The card has a validity of one month and is available in Vodafone Stores across Kolkata. In addition to the card, a Vodafone team will hold SMS workshops at institutes partnering with The International Deaf Children´s Society, India to educate the disabled on how to write and access SMS on their mobile phones.
Sambhav Card
- Prepaid card at Rs. 151
- Offers 500 local SMS
- One month validity
- Vodafone team to organise SMS workshops at institute
Sridhar Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar East Limited, said "We at Vodafone are very happy to offer this special service to our special customers on the occasion of World Disability Day. This product is specially designed keeping in mind the requirement of speech and hearing disabled individuals. It is our constant effort to make communication accessible to one and all and the Sambhav card is an endeavour towards this end."
"Deafness is a tragic disability which leaves individuals isolated and alone. They are often excluded from communication between friends and family because of their inability to hear. I thank Vodafone for joining hands with us in our mission to empower deaf people by giving them a chance too to make the most of their moments", said Brinda Crishna, Director, IDCS – India.
About Vodafone Essar Limited
Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86% of India’s mobile customer base, with over 35.6 million customers*.
Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the earlier Hutch brand, has been named the ´Most Respected Telecom Company´, the ´Best Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year´.
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 200 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.
The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with interests spanning the manufacturing and service sectors like Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics and Construction. The Group has an asset base of over Rs.400 billion (US$ 10 billion) and employs over 20,000 people.
*Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, October 31, 2007
For more information, please contact:
Rajiv Sarkar / Anindita Sarkar
Genesis Burson-Marsteller
Vodafone: +91 9830703778 / +91 9830060673
email: rajiv.sarkar@bm.com / anindita.sarkar@bm.com