Despite the stress of losing millions of customers and tax defaults earlier this year, Vodafone Idea Ltd. has lived to fight another day and is looking for ways to compete with the likes of Airtel and Reliance Jio in India. The latest development might bring it a step closer to the premium consumers as the company has announced the availability of eSIM for postpaid consumers in the country.
After launching the service for Apple Watch in Mumbai, Gujarat and Delhi a month ago, the company has extended the support for smartphones that are compatible in the above regions. The initial list of devices includes Apple’s iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and the budget SE 2020.
The company has promised that the service will extend further to devices like Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Fold soon. However, there is no word on Google’s Pixel 3a series of smartphones.
- What is an eSIM and why would you need one?
- India's smartphone shipments decline in Q2 of 2020 - for obvious reasons
For starters, eSIM is similar to a physical SIM card but it is embedded inside the phone and cannot be removed physically. It is a form of an integrated SIM and is compliant with all the supported mobile networks that are approved by India’s TRAI.
Customers can use the basic functionalities like Voice calls, SMS, 4G data without requiring to change their old SIM physically into a new device. To avail this service, existing Vodafone postpaid customers can follow the steps below:
New users can visit a store with ID proof, photograph and preferably the device to complete the process. Vodafone says the eSIM will be activated within 2 hours of completing the scan process.
