Vodafone India offers free Twitteraccess for three months

Vodafone India is offering its prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers free Twitter access for a period of three months starting 29 July. Under the promotion, users will be able to access mobile.twitter.com or the Twitter Android app without incurring any data charges on the Vodafone network. 

The operator clarifies that access to mobile.twitter.com would be free only when the subscriber uses the native or default browser. It also adds that "the Eligible Subscriber would only be charged for connection setup, at 10p/10KB on 2G all circles except Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and 2p/10KB on 3G and 2G in Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in case he/she is subscribed to Pay As You Go Tariff at Prevailing Pack Tariff in case he/she has subscribed to any of the Vodafone India Mobile Internet Packs." Free Twitter access is available only when the subscriber sets the APN to 'www' in the Internet data settings on the phone. The offer is not available to BlackBerry users. 

It's also worth pointing out that visiting external links from tweets will lead to users incurring data charges. Vodafone is also running advertisement messages within the Android Twitter app showing promotional messages under individual tweets and pop-up messages when one tries to compose a tweet, as reported by some users. (Hat tip - Pravin @beingpractical ) It's not the first time an Indian telecom operator has tied up with Twitter to offer free access.

In April, Reliance Communications had also tied up with Twitter to offer a "Twitter Access" program for three months, wherein it offered its GSM subscribers access to Twitter's mobile website and app without levying any extra data consumption charges.

Idea Cellular slashes 2G tariff by 90 percent in 8 circles

Triggering a tariff war, Idea Cellular
Friday slashed data charges by 90
percent in eight circles, following
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone , who
recently cut their rates by similar
margins in select circles.
"Idea Cellular has revised data tariff in
eight circles across the country users
can now access data for 2 paise/10
KB, which is a 90 percent reduction in
the existing tariff of 2 paise/KB," Idea
Cellular said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel had Wednesday slashed
data usage charges by 90 percent for
pre-paid subscribers in Punjab and
Haryana, a day after Vodafone lowered
its data charges by 80 percent for pre-
paid and post-paid customers in three
circles.
Airtel has reduced the price to 1 paisa
per 10 KB from 10 paisa per 10 KB and
Vodafone slashed the tariff from 10
paisa per 10 KB to 2 paisa per 10 KB.
Idea's new tariff is applicable to all 2G
data users who use data on pay-as-
you-go basis and also on an average
on regular data from July 1, 2013 and
the offer will be valid for 90 days, the
statement added.
"The new data rate will be
automatically implemented for all Idea
2G postpaid subscribers in these
markets, effective July 1 prepaid
users can avail the new rate with a
value recharge priced between Rs.
5-10," the statement said.
Idea said Tamil Nadu & Chennai,
Karnataka, Kolkata, West Bengal,
Assam, North East, Bihar, and Orissa
circles will benefit from the revised
data tariff.
"These eight circles comprise 1/3rd of
the total mobile users in India, with a
large number of users waiting to board
the mobile broadband wagon.
Availability of data at such affordable
rates will usher in a new wave of
mobile data growth in the country,"
Idea Cellular Deputy Managing
Director Ambrish Jain said.