The buyer will have to pay a deposit of INR 1,500 (US$23), which will be refunded after three years

Indian business conglomerate Reliance Industries has launched its much-awaited 4G-enabled feature phone, with an aim to further disrupt the highly-competitive telecom market in the country.

Buyers will get JioPhone for free of cost, starting from August 15. But the buyer will have to pay a deposit of INR 1,500 (US$23), which will be refunded after three years.

Voice calling will be free on JioPhone, while unlimited data packs will cost just INR 153 (US$2.38) a month. According to Reuters, Reliance plans to make 5 million JioPhones available every week.

Also Read: At US$4, India’s new smartphone is cheaper than a Subway meal

“Today, I am delighted to announce that JioPhone will be available to all Indians for an effective price of – Rs 0,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries. “A JioPhone user can use the JioPhone for 36 months, and can get a full refund of the security deposit of Rs 1,500 by returning the used JioPhone. Net-net, you pay nothing for the JioPhone,” he added.

JioPhone comes with Alpha numeric keypad, 2.4 inch QVGA display, FM radio, torch light, headphone jack, SD card slot, battery with charger, four-way navigation system, phone contact book, call history facility, Jio apps and  microphone and speaker.

Late last year, Reliance took the telecom industry by surprise when it launched its Jio mobile services with free 4G data plans. This forced all service providers to significantly reduce their tariffs. A few months later, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Plc, two leading operators in the country, merged their operations.

The post Reliance unveils zero-cost 4G feature phone in India; to provide unlimited data packs for US$2.38 a month appeared first on e27.

Source: e27