Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has launched a 4G feature phone priced at 999 rupees ($12.19) complete with internet services like digital payment and music and video streaming.
The phone, named JioBharat, is the telecom giant’s latest attempt to tap into India’s massive and under-penetrated rural market where many are yet to migrate to smartphones.
“There are still 250 million mobile phone users in India who remain ‘trapped’ in the 2G era … at a time when the world stands at the cusp of a 5G revolution,” Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, said in a statement.
Also on AF: Musk at Odds With Ambani in Plan to Bring Starlink to India
The move could help Jio cement its leadership in India’s telecom sector, with its user base already crossing 439 million, far ahead of rivals Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel.
Jio famously disrupted the Indian telecom sector in 2016 by introducing cut-price tariffs far cheaper than any rival.
Following that, in 2021, the company launched the 4G JioPhone smartphone at 6,499 rupees. After an initial sales surge, however, the phone is finding limited takers even after a price cut, a market study by IIFL Securities showed in May.
Users’ learning curve
Currently, 4G feature phones account for less than 1% of the feature phone sales in India, per Counterpoint Research.
“Feature phone to smartphone transition has slowed down due to high learning curve for a lot of rural Indian users and Jio Bharat aims to bridge that gap,” said Tarun Pathak, analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Feature phones are models that have higher functionalities than basic devices but fall short of the capabilities of a smartphone.
“4G is still a significant opportunity in India considering the 5G devices remain elusive from the sub-10,000 rupee segment … and will also help Jio in giving consumers a taste if its services ecosystem,” Pathak added.
The beta trial for the first 1 million JioBharat phones will begin on July 7 and will take place across 6,500 tehsils or sub-districts in India, the company said.
Last year, parent Reliance Industries said it was working with Google to launch a budget 5G smartphone but has not provided any further updates on the roll out.
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
Also read:
Indian Stocks Power to Record Highs on Earnings Boosts, Adani
India’s JioCinema in Content Streaming Deal With NBC Universal
Indian Telecom Jio Set to Launch 5G Services in October
Reliance’s Jio Tops Pile in India’s $19bn 5G Sell-Off
Mukesh Ambani Steps Down From Jio in Favour of Son
