iWorld
Vodafone India offers free Twitter access for three months
MUMBAI: Vodafone India is offering its prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers free Twitter access for a period of three months starting today (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.
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.
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.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
