Travelling abroad usually means one more thing to sort out before leaving India: international roaming. Vodafone Idea (Vi) is now trying to take that step out of the process for some of its customers by including international roaming as a benefit with select prepaid, postpaid and enterprise plans.
The benefit covers more than 170 countries, so eligible users can continue using their Vi number overseas without having to separately buy a roaming pack or pick up a local SIM. Depending on the plan, customers can use the benefit for up to three international trips in a year.
Vi says the plans come with different allowances for mobile data and outgoing calls, and claims that customers can save up to Rs. 9,000 over a year with the new benefit.
Vi International Roaming Benefit: What You Get
The new roaming benefit is not available with every Vi plan. It has been bundled with select plans across prepaid, postpaid and enterprise categories.
For postpaid users, the eligible plans start at Rs. 501. Vi is also including the benefit with its annual prepaid unlimited data plans. For business customers, eligible corporate plans start at Rs. 451.
The offering also covers individual and family plans, giving customers the option to keep using their existing Vi connection when travelling outside India.
There is one important catch, though. The roaming benefits are not identical across all eligible plans. The amount of international data and the number of outgoing calling minutes depend on the plan a customer has chosen.
How To Activate Vi Roaming
Customers who are eligible can activate the benefit through the Vi app. They need to select the applicable international Roam-Free plan, after which they can continue using their existing Vi number while abroad.
The benefit can be used for up to three trips in a year, although the exact allowances and conditions depend on the customer's plan.
Vi says the idea is to make international roaming less of a separate purchase. Instead of remembering to buy a roaming pack before every trip, customers on eligible plans can get the facility as part of their existing connection.
Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer at Vi, said, “Traditionally, international roaming has meant buying a pack or an additional purchase of a new local SIM or a travel eSIM and is mostly perceived as expensive. We are taking a disruptive approach by making international roaming as a built-in benefit on our key Vi plans.”
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There is also the issue of keeping an Indian mobile number active while travelling. A local SIM or travel eSIM may provide data and calling, but users can still need their Indian number for things such as receiving OTPs. Vi's new benefit allows eligible customers to continue using their existing number instead.
So, rather than treating international roaming as an add-on that needs to be arranged separately before a trip, Vi is making it part of selected plans. The actual amount of data, calling minutes and number of trips available will depend on the plan.