Vodafone Idea ‘keenly following Metaverse technology’, examining opportunities
New Delhi: After telecommunications company
Bharti Airtel on June 14 unveiled India’s first
Metaverse multiplex on the PartyNite Metaverse platform, its rival
Vodafone Idea is also eyeing opportunities in the 3D virtual world.
The company is looking over opportunities on the Metaverse to enhance customer experience, as the teleco aims at regaining the subscriber market share, according to a senior executive.
Vi added active mobile users in March 2022, the first time since erstwhile Vodafone India and Idea cellular merged nearly four years ago.
Vi is “keenly following this emerging technology to see how it evolves,” said Avneesh Khosla, chief marketing officer, Vodafone Idea.
Exuding confidence that metaverse has the potential to deeply engage with consumers and enhance their digital experience, Khosla told Economic Times that it Metaverse will enable deep engagement in genres such as gaming, entertainment, retail, education, e-commerce, and social networking.
He, however, took note of the need for a proper organ ecosystem to attain and reach because only then they will be able to enable immersive experiences.
Vi’s competitor
Airtel made headlines earlier this month as it became the first Indian operator to foray into the Metaverse through its Xstream multiplex.
The 20-screen platform will be an extension of Airtel’s Xstream Premium offering. It will leverage Airtel’s content library and will offer multiple layers of engagement which will allow users to interact on the PartyNite Metaverse.
Analysts are of the view that telecom operators will look at Metaverse differently for their business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) segments. The B2C segment will have a focus on the telcos’
5G services, which are expected to be rolled out by the end of this year.
However, Prashant Singhal, global TMT emerging markets leader at EY, noted that “right now, no one (retail customer) is asking for 5G.”
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