Reliance Jio is collaborating with featurephone companies like as Transsion's Itel, Lava, and Nokia to create their own versions of inexpensive Jio Bharat 4G smartphones in order to drive about 250 million 2G consumers to upgrade to 4G and beyond.

 

The telco is also set to announce an enhanced version of its Rs 999-priced 4G phone with support for UPI payments, WhatsApp and live TV streaming, as per economic times. 

 

“We wanted to establish the product in the market and in the minds of the consumer, so they could associate with it, relate with it…Today, all brands, whether it’s Itel, Lava or Nokia, are in touch with us in terms of how do we make it happen,” Sunil Dutt, president (devices division) at Jio, added.

 

As per Dutt, an industry veteran who has headed companies such as HP and Blackberry, the average 2G user isn't comfortable using a smartphone since it is pricey and prone to failures. According to him, the most important aspect is affordability, and Jio's recent push into the featurephone market is designed to reduce the cost of ownership. The Jio Bharat phones come with unique 4G monthly plans that, according to Dutt, are significantly less expensive than the competition.

 

“This is the most exploited customer and surprisingly our competitors have no sense of regret in exploiting them too. Our next-door neighbours charge Rs 180 to this customer and give them 2GB data, which, on a 2G network, a customer cannot even consume efficiently,” Dutt said. He claims that while featurephone hardware is standard, there is no content that users can consume on it.