Reliance JioPhone Could Hit Airtel & Vodafone With Free Calls

The telecom operator could push Airtel and Vodafone to go aggressive in the market.

JioPhone could push feature phones to a new level in India. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Reliance Jio has unleashed JioPhone, a device that’s going to connect more than 50 crore feature phone users in India to the internet. We have already heard about Jio’s AGM giving Airtel and Vodafone some sleepless nights, and going by expert views, that’s not a far-fetched assessment to make.

With its JioPhone, Reliance is targeting consumers who aren’t too keen on data, but would love to enjoy the benefits of free voice calls. Experts believe Jio has a good head start over Airtel and Vodafone in the 4G arena, which will work in the favour of Ambani and Co.

According to analysts that talked to The Quint, Jio could herald a new phase of innovation for feature phones in India. Traditionally, feature phones have a good shelf life compared to smartphones, and by pricing the device at 1,500 for 3 years, Jio has made sure they’ll stick with them for long.

With over 400 million feature phones in use, Jio is looking to refresh the market. Most consumers aren’t big on upgrading to a smartphone, so for them, JioPhone makes sense.

Tarun Pathak, Telecom Analyst, Counterpoint Research

Tarun also emphasised that consumers in rural India are not comfortable with touch-based phone that offer English as the primary language. This is where, JioPhone, supporting 22 Indian languages, could make the breakthrough for these users.

We expect Jio to ship around 6 million units of JioPhone every month, and close to 18 million units by the second half of 2017.

Tarun Pathak, Telecom Analyst, Counterpoint Research

These are some strong estimates for a brand which is still a month away from making its phone available to consumers in the country. But Tarun is bullish about Jio’s ambitions, which are likely to hurt other telcos in the coming months.

When quizzed if consumers will be willing to pay Rs 153 for data with JioPhone, Tarun said,

While most rural users pay Rs 100 on an average for data, Jio’s offering for Rs 153 could entice them to spend more on data, especially when voice calls will be free. 

Tarun Pathak, Telecom Analyst, Counterpoint Research

In all probability, Jio will be locking the phone to its network, and by giving itself a window of 3 years, they can offer its consumers the chance to upgrade to the next version.

Now, everyone has their eyes set on 24 August, when India will see the impact that a free offer can make on consumers.

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