Reliance Jio to launch a 4G phone for just Rs. 500 this month — report

There’s no denying that Reliance Jio has disrupted the telecom market in India. As reported back in February, it managed to get 100 million subscribers on board in just the first 170 days. However, the growth has slowed down a bit since, which is something that the company wants to change.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Reliance Jio plans on doing that by releasing a super affordable 4G VoLTE feature phone, which might be priced as low as Rs. 500. Although not confirmed, the device may be revealed at Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting on July 21, with sales officially kicking off in August. The company has reportedly already ordered between 18 and 20 million handsets, which will be manufactured in China.

The low price of the smartphone just might convince 2G subscribers to make the switch to Reliance Jio’s 4G network. The company will obviously subsidize the phone by as much as Rs. 975 in order to make sure it’s as affordable as it can be. A low-cost 4G handset along with cheap plans just might be a recipe for success that will increase Reliance Jio’s market share in India. As of April 2017, the company has 112.55 million subscribers.

Reliance Jio is a force to be reckoned with in India and we have seen quite a few changes in the market since the company started doing business. Airtel acquired rival Telenor India back in February, while Vodafone merged with Idea in March, which created the largest mobile operator in the country with around 400 million customers and a 35 percent market share.