Indian telecom operators Vodafone and Idea Cellular have announced that they have partnered with Opera to provide data plans via its Web Pass offerings. There is no word on the when the service will go live for the consumers.

Opera Web Pass is a product for telecom operators, which allows them to offer simple time or website-based data plans to consumers. Web Pass aims to avoid the MB/ GB and jargon-filled data packs, which often deter first-time mobile internet users from surfing the web on their mobile devices. Airtel was the first telecom operator in the country to offer Opera Web Pass and now Vodafone and Idea have joined in.

Vodafone is yet to reveal which data packs it plans to provide via Web Pass, however Idea Cellular has announced its Web Pass packages, which include Daily Internet Pass for INR 8, Weekly Facebook Pass for INR 7 and Weekly Internet Pass for INR 30.

How does Opera Web Pass work?

• To use or get data Web Pass data packs, you will need Opera Mini browser (not any other Opera browser) on your phone. If Opera Mini is not installed on your phone, get it from m.opera.com or via your phone’s app store like Google Play.
• Once you have Opera Mini installed. You will need to open it and click “Idea/ Vodafone Web Pass” on the Speed Dial page and choose from a list of web pass subscriptions.
• Once you have bought a Web Pass, you are ready to surf the web as per the package via the Opera Mini.
• Data purchased via Web Pass will only be available through Opera Mini browser, not apps or any other browser.

“Idea has consistently focused on growing data penetration across the country; we understand that a lot of Idea users choose to access a few preferred sites rather than buying full data plans. Our partnership with Opera for the web pass will help us to reach out to those users and provide them with a convenient data-plan option,” says Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular.

Speaking about the initiative, Vivek Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Vodafone India, says, “Mobile internet has immense growth potential, and we are looking to play an integral part of this opportunity. Anticipating the need for customized offers in mobile internet, we have partnered with Opera Software. This services enables our customers to buy small ticket, duration based packs to suit their requirements.”