Reliance to introduce 4G feature phone for Rs 500

According to a report by The Economic Times, Reliance is expected to introduce a 4G feature phone on 21 July in the Reliance Industries' Annual meet. The price of the phone is speculated to fall within the 1000 segment. The analysts at HSBC , however, have pegged the device price at around Rs 500.

HSBC Director and Telecom analyst, Rajiv Sharma, has suggested that the Reliance Jio 4G VoLTE phone will be priced at Rs 500 (sub-$8) to lure 2G subscribers to directly switch to 4G. He further added that Jio will be subsidising each handset by as much as $10-15 (Rs 650-975).

The '4G feature phone' will be a new addition to the slew of Reliance smartphones under its LYF brand, as there aren't many players in the 4G feature phones segment as yet. While the Indian market is still maturing and the shift to smartphones is gradual, a large amount of the feature phone market remains untapped. The entry of a Jio-backed 4G feature phone can give Reliance an edge over rival telecom operators.

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Most feature phones in India only support 2G network. 4G feature is a new introduction to the Indian market. Lava and Micromax had recently launched feature phones with 4G capabilities priced above the Rs 3000 range, giving customers the option of resorting to smartphones within the same range.

Though not officially announced, the phone is expected to enter the market by July end. Some reports are also hinting at an August 15 launch. Reliance has placed orders for 18-20 million of the 4G VoLTE feature phones.

The new 4G feature phone will help Reliance tackle the subscriber addition that has slowed down since January 2017. The company added only 3.9 million subscribers in the month of April as opposed to 19.6 million subscribers added in October after its commercial launch in September last year.

Being a budget-oriented phone, the phone might not have many features, except for the 4G functionality. Along with the budget phone, Reliance Jio is also expected to announce new tariff plans at the general meeting. The Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan and other offers announced at the beginning of the financial year are now coming to an end and new offers are awaited from the 4G service provider.

Reliance Jio recently unveiled offers for new Reliance JioFi and new SIM card buyers with Jio Prime membership. The device is priced at Rs 1,999 and the Prime membership comes for Rs 99 for a year. The plans between Rs 149 per month to Rs 990 for 2 cycles offers anywhere between 2GB 4G data monthly to 2GB data per day. There are also plans offering data without FUP.

The entry of Reliance Jio disrupted the telecom market and lead to data warms, further leading to a consolidation of the Indian operators. The launch of a new feature device could fuel the war further, with Reliance Jio making inroads in the 2G markets of the country which are yet not affected by the data war. The rural markets are Jio’s target as suggested by analysts.