Few years back it was One Rupee call gaining attention. Now the pitch has literally halved as operators are hovering around the 50 paise per minute mark to offer mobile services.

Vodafone Essar in Karnataka, taking a cue from tariff reduction initiated by counterparts Airtel and Idea, has followed suit and is now offering local, STD and SMSes to any network within the country at 50 paise.

Subscribers can avail the offer on recharge of Rs 75 or Rs 119 with three months and six months validity respectively.

K. Sankara Narayanan, Chief Executive Officer - Karnataka, Vodafone Essar South Limited, says “A customer today finds it difficult to distinguish between a local and a STD number as the number series for any operator is not in a uniform or consistent pattern. This uniform pricing strategy by Vodafone empowers our customers with a product that is simple, convenient and affordable. Our prepaid customers, close to 40 lakh in Karnataka alone, need not worry about whether they are calling or messaging a local or a national number.”