New business models
Our research demonstrates that the needs of customers in emerging markets can be quite different from those in developed markets. This means we need to adopt different business models – affecting network development, customer service and price plans – according to local needs and what customers can afford. These are some examples of how we are tailoring our services to emerging markets:
Pre-pay
Providing flexible payment options helps to overcome credit barriers. For example, a pre-pay business model enables people to top up the credit on their phones as and when they need to, or are able to, rather than committing customers to a standard monthly charge. Pre-pay options (via cards, vouchers or electronic top-up schemes) are available in all our markets. We offer lower denomination pre-pay cards in emerging markets, to enable poorer customers to pay for just a small amount of call time at once. In India, for example, all you need to pay to become a Vodafone customer the first time is 99 Rupees (less than US$3).
Reverse charge (No airtime? No problem!)
Reverse charge enables people to make critical calls even when they have run out of credit. For example, Vodacom in South Africa offers a service where contract customers are billed for reverse charge calls made to them by family and friends. See details.
Customer service vans in India for rural regions
We are bringing mobile services to rural communities in India through traveling phone shops. Forty vans drive from village to village in remote parts of the country, reaching people that otherwise would not have access to mobiles. More than 2,000 people already use the services every day and we plan to increase the number of vans to reach more communities. As the vans run as a franchise, they also provide the opportunity for local people to set up a small business.
Self-service kiosks to top up the cards in urban areas of India
Vodafone Essar operates 400 self-service phone kiosks in urban areas, which are open 24 hours a day. Around 22,000 transactions are made each day using the kiosks’ convenient, affordable top-up and information services.
Free callback requests
Our 'Please Call Me' service in South Africa enables customers to send a free text message asking the recipient to call them back, even when the sender has run out of credit. The cost of running the service is covered by advertising that is included alongside the ‘Please Call Me’ message. Vodafone’s joint venture in South Africa, Vodacom, also teams up with charities to raise awareness of their campaigns or to deliver social messages – on HIV/AIDS prevention, for example – through the ‘Please Call Me’ service. A similar service in Egypt enables customers to send up to three free 'Please Call Me' text messages a day as part of our Wayak initiative (see m-transactions).
Community phones
Many people cannot afford a mobile phone but have access to mobile services by sharing with family or friends, or through community phone shops where you can pay per call. These phone shops enable affordable telecommunications in poor, rural and under-serviced areas where there are few or no fixed line phones.
More than 100,000 community service phone lines from approximately 4,000 access points have been set up by our joint venture Vodacom in South Africa. Community phones are run by local businesses as phone shops, under franchise. Vodacom provides business training and support to franchisees to help them make their business a success. Phone shops also help to boost local economies by creating jobs and attracting other businesses. On average, 133 million minutes of outgoing calls are made every month using these services.
In India, we offer the Vodafone PCO, a phone that looks like a fixed-line handset, but is connected to the Vodafone network. It is aimed at entreprenuers that can install it at their shops or homes.
Network sharing
Vodafone Essar is involved in a network-sharing partnership that aims to improve mobile coverage and quality in India, particularly in rural areas. Vodafone has a 42% share in Indus Towers, an independent company responsible for the construction of India’s new mobile towers and the maintenance of existing ones belonging to Vodafone Essar, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular. Indus Towers will manage more than 70,000 sites, making it the largest tower company in the world.