Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the only 100% VoLTE operator in the country, is preparing to roll out VoLTE feature phones for as low as ₹1,000. As per The Economic Times, the VoLTE feature phones would be bundled with unlimited free voice calling apart from the digital content that Jio provides.
By launching affordable 4G capability phones, Mukesh Ambani-owned Company would garner millions of users to its telecom venture. This movie would definitely win over customers from the rural and tier-3 markets who use phones mainly to make voice calls.
Reliance Jio Sees Huge Potential:
According to a recent study, more than 1 billion mobile phone subscribers are still using 2G feature phones in India. This is a huge market and Reliance Jio wants to tap all the segments across the country. As of now, the cheapest 4G smartphone costs about ₹3,000. And if Reliance Jio develops VoLTE feature phones under ₹1,000, the company can up its user base in an exponential way. Adding the new devices will be aimed at first-time data users as Reliance Jio sees a huge potential in the rural areas.
As Reliance Jio has added over 25 million subscribers since commercially launching its services on September 5, 2016 and is targeting 100 million in the shortest time, tapping customers who use feature phones is essential. The industry experts welcome this plan as VoLTE is now offered only on smartphones.
Jio Lava-Make Feature Phones:
If the insider reports are the believed, the LTE mobile network operator Reliance Jio Infocomm is developing two feature phones priced at about ₹1,000 and ₹1,500 that could be launched during January-March. The telecom venture of cash-rich Reliance Industries is already working with domestic mobile handset company maker Lava International and Chinese original equipment makers to make up these VoLTE feature phones at about $15.
The handsets are primarily meant to make voice calls and access internet. It will have a keypad, Spreadtrum chipset, front and rear camera and powered by Android operating system. The only thing missing will be the touch screen but will be equipped with Jio’s content applications.
By providing the cheapest VoLTE feature phone at less than ₹1,000, one could expect a faster adoption as the target audience in that segment will prefer bundled free voice calling. Truly, this could be a big game changer for Indian telecom industry.
