The Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator, Reliance Jio has definitely brought a reeling change in the telecom industry after its entry in 2016. Since then, the telecom operator has brought over a data tariff war in the industry as well, which bruised not only the sector as a whole, but also brought a wave of consolidation. Since day one, the telco has been having the sole aim of amassing as many subscribers as possible. Even three years later, the telco has been sticking to its same goal. A lot of people expected that Reliance Jio would increase tariffs soon after becoming the largest telco by subscriber base, but nothing of that sort has happened. A big catalyst in Reliance Jio’s growth of subscribers has been the JioPhone, the affordable 4G feature phone by Reliance Jio which has woven a success story of its own.
Reliance JioPhone Popular Due to Affordable Rs 1,500 Price
Reliance Jio found a goldmine when it first realised that the uptake for the 4G customers would be most by the existing 2G subscribers who were stuck with slow data services and poor cellular service. At the time, the subscribers were paying heavy charges for very less 2G data, and accessing 4G speeds which the other telcos were providing, the subscribers had to upgrade to a 4G phone which was a massive expense for most of the people on 2G. This is where Reliance Jio found its silver lining by introducing the JioPhone for a measly price of Rs 1,500. The Mukesh Ambani led telco introduced the Rs 1,500 feature phone with 4G VoLTE enabled on it and KaiOS which also enabled the use of apps like Google voice search, multiple games, Facebook and more. This cheap offering from Jio finally paved the way for the 2G users to shift to 4G network without spending a lot.
Reliance Jio Added 70 Million Subscribers Through JioPhone
Even though Reliance Jio’s feature phone has been an extremely affordable 4G offering from the telco, the company knew about the buyers of the phone and kept on introducing offers after offers to lure more customers. Offers like Monsoon Hungama which availed the JioPhone for an effective price of Rs 594 increased the uptake of the phone by a large scale and brought in a wave of new subscribers for the telecom operator. It has been because of such offers and the added advantage of the affordable price tag, which has led to the rise of the subscriber base for Reliance Jio. The telecom operator in its latest release has noted that by means of JioPhone, it has been able to add 70 million or seven crore subscribers to its network.
The Cost that Reliance Jio Paid for High Number of Subscribers
Now JioPhone being an affordable offering, and the 2G customers being low-paying ones has meant a decline in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) for the telco despite increased sales, but Reliance Jio has made it clear that adding more subscribers remains its top priority for now. The telco has already announced its plans of reaching 500 million subscribers soon, and there is no doubt that again, JioPhone will be a critical deciding factor in how fast the telco reaches this figure.
Reliance Jio has also launched a new offer on JioPhone called the JioPhone Diwali Offer which will be live between Dussehra and Diwali and in this period, the JioPhone will retail for Rs 699 only. Not only this, but the subscribers will also get Rs 99 worth of data on consequent 7 recharges meaning a benefit of about Rs 700 in addition to the Rs 800 savings. Just like the previous offers, the new Diwali offer on JioPhone is going to propel the sales of the device, thus getting more subscribers for Jio.
