Reliance Jio India V2 4G Phone: Telecom sector analysts believe that Reliance Jio’s launch of internet-enabled phones at ‘attractive prices’ will play a key role in increasing the company’s market share and also reduce the possibility of tariff hikes in the near term. Jio recently announced the launch of the ‘Jio Bharat’ phone priced at Rs 999. Along with this, a monthly plan of Rs 123 has been launched, where customers will get 14GB data in addition to unlimited voice calls. With this, Jio has tried to target 25 crore customers using 2G phones.
Bharti Airtel will suffer losses
JP Morgan said in a comment that this ‘game-changing move’ by Jio could halt the rate hike process for 2G services. Besides, it will also help increase Jio’s share in the basic telecom services segment. We think this will prove negative for Bharti Airtel as expectations of tariff hikes should come to an end in the next 12-18 months, Morgan said.
JioPhone faces few challenges in the market
At the same time, MK said in his statement that the Jio Bharat phone is much better positioned to disrupt the market than the original Jio phone that came in 2018. He said that Jio Bharat Phone can receive more than 10 crore customers if there are no issues related to supply chain or performance.
Impact on revenue of Airtel and Vi
MK said Vodafone Idea and Airtel have 103 million and 111 million 2G subscribers respectively. If even 40 percent of these customers opt for Jio India, the two companies’ mobile revenue could be affected by 11 percent and eight percent, respectively. Along with this, MK believes that the 2G service rate hike will also be delayed with the launch of this affordable phone. If this happens, Vodafone Idea will suffer the most.
Jio will get 2 crore subscribers from India
Jefferies, considering Jio’s phone a no-brainer in terms of fee hikes, said it could soon consolidate the Indian telecom market between the two companies. According to Jefferies, after the launch of the Jio Bharat Phone, Jio could gain 2-22 million subscribers annually, which could reduce Bharti Airtel’s pre-tax earnings by 1-2 percent by 2024-25.
Jio’s cheapest 4G phone
Jio recently announced the launch of the ‘Jio Bharat’ phone at Rs 999. Along with this, a monthly plan of Rs 123 has been launched, where customers will get 14GB data in addition to unlimited voice calls. With this, Jio has tried to target 25 crore customers using 2G phones.
