Bengaluru, June 24 (IANS): Putting 'customer first' and to remain ready for the future, Vodafone India invested Rs.300 crore in Karnataka from April 2014 to March 2015 to bolster its network and distribution, company officials said here on Wednesday.

The company with a customer base of 67 lakh and a market share of 14.7 percent in Karnataka circle activated 400 new telecom towers in this period to cover 13,850 towns and villages and expanded its distribution touch points to 70,000.

"Our investments over the past year have been directed at putting in place a network that our customers can rely upon, especially in the interior regions, said Atanu Batabyal, the business head, Karnataka, Vodafone India.

The company added 67 retail touch points in the mentioned period and raised its retail network to 869 touch points.

Stating that Vodafone believes in direct contact with customer and gives importance to brick and mortar format along with other formats, Batabyal said, "The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) combining voice and data in the prepaid business amounted to Rs.180 and for post paid business it is Rs.550 in the circle."

The company laid out 6,800 km of optic fibre across the state.

Vodafone is also making efforts to help customers serve themselves which resulted in 66,000 customers using the Vodafone app and self-activations growing at the rate of 8,000 per month, Batabyal added.

Self-help revenue is growing at seven to eight percent, he added.

M- Pesa, the company's mobile banking launched in March 2014 has been expanded, it currently has 4,400 plus agents serving 1.5 lakh customers in Karnataka.

Vodafone introduced a new concept in its retail division by launching Global Design Stores. With this new concept, the company aims to offer uniform superior service globally, be it in Birmingham in the UK or in the 21 Global Design Stores in Bengaluru, said Batabyal.