New Delhi: Reliance Jio Chairman Sunil Dutt during the launch of JioBharat V3 and V4 phones at the India Mobile Congress 2024 in New Delhi. (PTI photo)(

NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio is working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including smartphone brands and US-based Qualcomm, to deliver a value proposition on fifth-generation or 5G-enabled smartphones, a said a telecommunications company executive.

“For all smartphones, we work closely with all partner brands and device manufacturers, whether they are innovating and producing 5G smartphones on a standalone network. We are working with Qualcomm to reduce prices and make 5G smartphones accessible to customers,” Sunil Dutt, President – ​​Devices, Reliance Jio, told ETTelecom.

Dutt said Jio is working “very closely” with all OEMs to get the “best value proposition for our customers”.

Mukesh Ambani’s Jio leads the wireless market with a subscriber base of 463.78 million, followed by Bharti Airtel (383.48 million) and Vodafone Idea (212.45 million), according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data (TRAI) for the month of August.

The Mumbai-based telco has 148 million 5G users that contribute nearly 34% of its wireless data traffic.

Notably, Xiaomi this week launched its sub-Rs 10,000 smartphone, the Redmi A4 5G, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset with support for the 5G SA Jio network. The companies have teamed up to migrate millions of users of 4G feature phones and budget smartphones to fifth-generation networks.

Market research agency Techarc previously forecast that sub-$99 smartphones powered by chipsets from Unisoc and Qualcomm could help 156 million feature phone users migrate to 5G by 2030 in India.

The move is expected to increase 5G’s contribution to the sub-$100 price segment and further add to the “full democratization of 5G in smartphones,” Counterpoint Research said separately, noting that the key to achieving 5G democratization is to introduce lower prices. strips.

According to Counterpoint, 5G smartphones achieved the highest ever share of 81% in total shipments in the July-September 2024 quarter. In the Rs 10,001-Rs 15,000 segment, 5G penetration reached 93%, with brands focusing on introducing 5G models in the budget segment, the marketer said.

The telco sells 135 million JioPhone units

Dutt said Jio is enabling the migration of 2G to 4G users with its affordable ‘JioBharat’ range of feature phones with economical mobile packs.

“We provide them with information, entertainment, digital payments and messaging chats. These are very affordable phones with affordable monthly plans priced at Rs 123 per month as well as phones starting at Rs 999,” he said.

Jio has sold 135 million units of its ‘JioPhone’ devices, the executive revealed. “Our phones are working extremely well. JioPhone, we sold about 135 million of those phones. And again, JioBharat has successfully taken off in the market,” said Dutt.

Jio is banking on ‘JioBharat’ to migrate India’s 250 million 2G users, especially in rural areas, to fourth-generation internet phones.

Data from CyberMedia Research (CMR) showed that JioBharat’s shipment share in the 4G feature phone segment was 35% in 2023.

Handset OEMs need to do more to make 4G feature phones more affordable for the masses, according to the executive.

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