WIth a 4G phone for Rs 500, Jio will hit rival telcos even harder

The much-awaited 4G VoLTE feature phone from Reliance Jio might get launched within this month, and the price has been put to be as low as Rs 500 by brokerage HSBC.

This move by Reliance would once again hit the rival telcos hard, who are yet to recover from the shock of Jio’s free data and voice calling offers that were launched in September last year.

The launch could coincide with Reliance Industries' annual general meeting on July 21. It would probably follow Jio's new tariff plan with aggressive price-points that is expected to happen in a couple of days, now that the Dhan Dhana Dhan offer is about to close.

Rajiv Sharma, HSBC director and telecoms analyst, said in a note that the price of Jio’s 4G feature phone could be "at a paltry Rs 500 (sub-$8) to lure 2G subscribers to directly switch to 4G, "which implies "Jio subsidising each handset by as much as $10-15 (Rs 650-975)."

"This launch can create the next wave of disruption in the telecom market," a top executive of one of the leading telcos told ET. "Not just us, but the existing players could surely lose a chunk of their low-end voice customers - most of whom are pre-paid - once this 4G feature phone is launched."

The phone would probably flood the market, since more than 18 million units have been ordered, the shipment of which would begin from July end or early-August, with a launch around India’s Independence Day on August 15th.