Vodafone prepaid revenue highest among operators

Freecharge.in, an online mobile recharge service, reports that among all pre paid mobile users of various operators and circles, those who subscribe to Vodafone the spend most on recharging their phones; while Aircel customers spend the least.
The company carried out a study to determine how much pre paid users in different telecom circles spend on top ups and what mode of payments they use.

 The company analysed about one lakh transactions made on the website during September and October to find out the various patterns of prepaid mobile recharge.
According to the analysis, Vodafone pre paid users spend about 15 per cent more on recharging their phones than the average of all pre paid customers, which is Rs 128; Aircel customers spend the least at around 21 per cent less than the average.
The study also highlights that pre paid users in Karnataka circle spend the most - around 16 per cent more than the average spending pattern found in other circle.
For making payments, the report also says that the number of credit card transactions is 34 per cent higher than net banking transactions and 83 per cent higher than debit card transactions.
Interestingly, SBI customers prefer using debit cards for online transactions whereas ICICI customers usually use their net banking account for recharging report further said.
Naman Sarawagi, head of marketing at Freecharge.in, said, "The call rates are dropping with every new telecom operator entering the market. With mobile number portability coming into action in about a month, the telecom tariff fight will be even more aggressive and the customer stands to gain for sure. On the other hand, newly launched 3G services will give birth to new applications and help telecom operators increase their ARPU, hence paving a path for a sustainable market."
He added, "Currently, around one per cent of all mobile recharges happen online but this share is growing rapidly with increasing internet connectivity, and the masses finding it convenient to make utility transactions from their homes."
The Data in the report covered 10 telecom operators - Aircel, BSNL, Docomo, Loop Mobile, Idea, Reliance, S-Tel, Tata Indicom, Virgin and Vodafone. Amongst the major operators, the report did not cover Airtel and MTNL.