Reliance Jio has today launched Jio Bharat phone in India priced aggressively at ₹999, the Jio Bharat phone is a low-budget 4G phone from the company with 4G capabilities. The company aims to migrate 250 million existing feature phone users to internet-enabled phones and accelerates its ‘2G-Mukt Bharat’ vision.
Jio said in a statement, “India still has 250 million mobile subscribers trapped in the 2G era with feature phones. These feature phones do not provide access to internet, especially at a time when access to technology is a necessity which also uplifts one’s livelihood and economic well-being.”
“Lately, this digital disempowerment and disparity for these feature phone users has become worse, with other telecom operators increasing the minimum price to stay connected by more than twice. Even basic voice services for a 30-day period, which used to cost ₹99 previously, now costs ₹199”, Jio added.
The telco will conduct a beta trial for the first one million Jio Bharat phones from 7th July across 6,500 tehsils. Jio says at only ₹999, this will be the lowest entry price for an internet-enabled phone. It a is 30% cheaper monthly plan and seven times more data compared to feature phone offerings of other operators, it added.
The company has launched two new Jio Bharat plans priced at ₹123 and an annual ₹1,234 plan. The ₹123 plan will offer unlimited voice calling and 14 GB of data valid for 28 days validity whereas the annual plan provides a total of 168 GB of data. Compared to the other operators’ plans like ₹179 which comes with voice calls and just 2 GB of data, the new ₹123 Jio plan will be at the top.
Besides Reliance Retail, other phone brands (starting with Karbonn) will adopt the Jio Bharat platform to build Jio Bharat phones. Jio Bharat platform will leverage device and network capabilities to deliver internet-enabled services on entry-level phones, says Jio.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio, commented, “There are still 250 million mobile phone users in India who remain ‘trapped’ in the 2G era, unable to tap into basic features of the internet at a time when the world stands at the cusp of a 5G revolution.
6 years ago, when Jio was launched, we made it clear that Jio will leave no stone unturned to democratize internet and pass the benefits of technology to every Indian. Technology will no longer remain a privilege for a select few. The new Jio Bharat phone is another step in that direction. It is at the centre of innovation, and it continues to demonstrate our focus on bringing disproportionate and true value for different segments of users with meaningful, real-life use cases.
At Jio, we have and will continue to take bold steps to eradicate this DIGITAL DIVIDE and welcome every Indian to JOIN THIS MOVEMENT. WE CARE for every citizen of our nation, and we will go the extra mile to ensure every single person reaps the benefits of this DIGITAL SOCEITY that our great nation is turning into.”
Jio Bharat Price In India & Availability
- Price: ₹999
- Availability: 7th July 2023 onwards
