After Reliance Jio disrupted the telecom market, other telecom operators were forced to drop prices of their tariffs. But this didn’t help much and Jio is still seeing good growth. They also tried to bring low cost 4G phones to bear JioPhone. Now they are planning ultra low cost 4G phone for as low as Rs 500.
Economic Times published a report that talks about a low cost 4G phone for just Rs. 500. Telcos may also offer bundled voice and data plans worth Rs, 60 or 70 with a month validity.
When we tried to ask officials from Vodafone and Airtel, they denied to comment on this matter. So, we cannot say if this plan is in execution or just in concept phase.
JioPhone that was launched for effective price of Rs ‘zero’ offers a bundled plan of Rs 49. Customers get unlimited calls and 1GB of 4G for 28 days, However, it is worth to note that JioPhone is a featured phone. Other telcos are planning a low-cost 4G phone.
For this low-cost smartphone, telecom operators are already in talk with smartphone makers. They have already brought smartphones for effective price Rs. 1500 with cashbacks. Now it will be interesting to see if they plan the same with this Rs. 500 smartphone.
After Android Go came into existence, it has opened the doors for low-cost phones. Micromax has already announced a phone based on Android Go and it will be priced less than Rs. 2000. After Telco partnership, this price could be taken down.
We still have no official confirmation. So, we will have to wait for more days to get more details.
