Reliance Jio may soon launch 4G VoLTE feature phone for Rs 500

After a period of lull in terms of new offers and in effect declining user growth, Reliance Jio could unveil new tariff plans as well as a Rs 500 feature phone with VoLTE capabilities at the Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting on July 21, The Economic Times reported on Wednesday.

The report cites Rajiv Sharma, HSBC director and telecom analyst as saying that that the phone has been subsidized by Reliance. Each handset is subsidized to as much as $10-$15 (Rs650-975 by Reliance to sell it at Rs500 ($8). The low cost of the phone will lure 2G subscribers to directly switch to 4G.

Read more here: Reliance Jio launches 4G mobile phone at an effective price of Rs 0

The plan of action here looks like- introducing new tariff plans and flooding the market with low-cost affordable 4G handsets that will once again take Jio on a steep growth trajectory. The report further adds that Jio has already placed orders for 18-20 million phones with prominent Chinese original device manufacturers (ODMs). Prominent Chinese companies such Zhejiang Techain Electronics Technology Co., Shenzhen CHINO-E Communication Co, Crave and Megaphone, have reportedly been roped in by Reliance.

Meanwhile, the latest report by TRAI stated that Jio was the fastest 4G service in India in the month of June. This is for seven month in a row that Jio has topped the 4G download speed list in TRAI tests.