Battle against Jio: Vodafone, Itel tie up to offer upto Rs 900 cashback

New Delhi: Telecom operator Vodafone has joined hands with mobile company Itel to offer a free talktime scheme to new customers of the latter's feature phones.

Under the offer, customers of Itel feature phones priced between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000 will get free talktime of Rs 50 for 18 months on minimum recharge of Rs 100 every month.

The offer will be available for both new and existing Vodafone subscribers on new Itel feature phones, Vodafone said in a release.

It has come at a time when rival Reliance Jio has launched pre-booking of an "effectively free" device, targeting customers in rural areas and those spending low on mobile services.

The free talk time offer would subsidise the cost of handset by 50-100 per cent, Vodafone said. "This collaboration will enable our existing and prospective customers to make the most out of their new device purchase," Vodafone India, consumer business, associate director, Avneesh Khosla said in a statement.

"Itel customers will now be entitled to avail unprecedented cash-backs from Vodafone on purchasing Itel feature phones," Itel Mobile India CEO Sudhir Kumar said.