After shaking up the Indian telecom segment with its cheap data services and free voice calling features, Reliance Jio has partnered with Google India to manufacture Jio-exclusive smartphones which will be inexpensive to boot and will help bridge the digital divide as well. The new partnership will bring in smartphones which may cost as low as $30 or approximately Rs 2,000 if Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s recent remarks are anything to go by. Interestingly, Reliance Jio has already launched its LYF brand of affordable smartphones in the price range of Rs 2,999 and Rs 19,999.
The majority of domestic mobile phone users are on the wrong side of the digital divide as standard smartphones are still relatively expensive. A project like this in a country like India, with its vast market, could work wonders for both Reliance Jio as well as Google India. The new range of smartphones will come preinstalled with Jio’s apps and will also increase Jio’s footprint in the market. This will also mean more headaches for the competing telecom companies like Airtel, V0dafone, and Idea Cellular. Recently, Jio had acquired 100 million subscribers, making it the fastest indigenous telecom operator to do such a milestone.
Reports suggest that the new smartphones will come for as low as Rs 1500. This is a double-edged plan for the two partners: Google will look to revive the failed Android One project in India while the move will also boost Jio’s network ecosystem and will improve user engagement as well. Google’s Android One project was first launched in 2014 when Google had tied up with domestic mobile manufacturers like Karbonn and Spice. The phones had been priced at Rs 6500 and below. However, that project was not successful and Google will look to set the record straight.
A partnership with Reliance Jio seems to be beneficial for the two giants in the future as well. With Jio reaching out to exponentially more customers with each passing day, it is only natural that the two companies join hands. Android One may have been a failure but this idea seems more than a passing pipedream.
