Reliance Jio 4G VoLTE Feature Phone @Rs500 To Storm Market On Independence Day
MUMBAI: Reliance Jio is all set to launch its much-awaited 4G VoLTE feature phone this Independence Day with a price tag as low as Rs500, a move which could bring in another wave of disruption in the telecom market.
The launch — which some believe could be announced at parent Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting on July 21— would follow Jio’s likely announcement of a new tariff plan with aggressive price-points over the next couple of days with its 84-day Dhan Dhana Dhan offer — announced on April 11 — drawing to a close, sources said.
Jio is likely to price its 4G feature phone “at a paltry Rs 500 (sub-$8) to lure 2G subscribers to directly switch to 4G”, which implies “Jio subsidising each handset by as much as $10-15 (Rs 650-975)”, Rajiv Sharma, HSBC director and telecoms analyst, said in a note.
Analysts expect Jio to dangle a combination of an aggressive tariff offer backed with the mass-market 4G VoLTE feature phone to rev up active subscriber additions.
After a massive start, Jio has seen a slow down in the pace of its customer acquisition, mainly due to the limited number of affordable 4G handsets in the market. But phones supporting 4G VoLTE and priced affordably can help the new operator target millions of 2G featurephone users who have been wary of shifting to smartphones due to the affordability factor and lack of use case. Jio has 112.55 million subscribers as of April 2017.
“This launch can create the next wave of disruption in the telecom market,” said a top executive of one of the leading telcos. “Not just us, but the existing players could surely lose a chunk of their low-end voice customers — most of whom are pre-paid - once this 4G featurephone is launched.”
Jio is the only operator which runs a 4G VoLTE network, while its rivals such as AirtelBSE -0.03 %, Vodafone and Idea still are running trials on VoLTE but haven’t launched commercially.
“We won’t get into this device price war. Let’s see how deep the hit is,” the executive said, adding the “bloodbath in the market can continue for another year.” He was referring to the ongoing brutal price war since Jio’s entry last September which has hit the incumbent telcos’ revenue and profits and forced raid consolidation in the industry.
Jio appears to be ready to flood the market with its 4G devices, having placed orders for 18-20 million of the 4G VoLTE feature phones with some key Chinese original device manufacturers (ODMs) including Zhejiang Techain Electronics Technology Co., Shenzhen CHINO-E Communication Co, Crave and Megaphone. Handset makers sell roughly on average five million feature phones and 15 million smartphones a month.
The shipments may begin from July end or early-August, with the company looking at a possible launch for August 15.
According to some leaks, the Reliance Jio 4G VoLTE feature phone will come in two variants: one featuring a Qualcomm processor, and the other with a Spreadtrum chip. In terms of specifications, Jio 4G feature phone is said to have a 2.4-inch display, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, microSD card support, 2-megapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC. With 4G VoLTE support, buyers will be able to access digital content on the feature phone courtesy the free subscription to Jio apps. In fact, leaked photos of the device show dedicated hardware buttons in the front for MyJio, JioTV, JioCinema, and JioMusic apps. Voice calls and SMSs are also expected to be free with the device.
Reliance Jio broadband service
Reliance Jio is also expected to launch a broadband service – named JioFiber – soon, which might just be announced at the AGM as well. The service is already under testing right now in six cities, though the company said it has plans to expand the trial to more cities. A flyer for the Jio broadband service says users will get 100GB data and 100Mbps speed with connection, and the service will be free for the first three months. However, they will have to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs. 4,500.
