Last Updated on September 12, 2020
Mukesh Ambani announced Reliance Jio Partnership with Google, Facebook, and other companies on the 43rd Annual General Meeting. He even disclosed that they have built their own home developed 5G Network. With the help of Google, they will be manufacturing entry-level budget phones with 4G support which will run on a new OS developed by Google. News has emerged that Reliance Jio is set to launch cheap 4G phones with bundled data by December 2020 or early 2021.
Jio has been developing an ecosystem of its own with phones, applications, OTT, and content delivery in India. Earlier their affordable phones were built over KaiOS and support VoLTE. Now that they are planning for a cheap customized Android phone that could set Indians to be free from the 2G network and switch to 4G. Jio can provide huge data packages and free Voice calls to people who buy the cheap 4G phone, which will benefit them in the long run.
Reliance Jio is looking forward to manufacturing over 100 million cheap 5G phones. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they seem to be running out of time with low human resources. So, they are looking to outsource the manufacturing process but keep the label “Made in India” phone. Do read Myths about 5G causing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The joint forces of Google and Reliance Jio have developed these cheap 5G phones with customized Android OS and Play Store with the motive to put smartphones on every Indian people’s hand. They plan to make their smartphones reach to every corner of India. This would bring a better communication system for people living in rural areas and cheap solutions for everyone.
Resources suggest that this joint partnership is also about bringing down the Chinese brand’s dominance in this market. Currently, Chinese brands control over 80% of the smartphone market in India. Cheap 4G/5G phones and its accessibility to everyone would help Reliance Jio to close the market gap between them and Chinese brands.
Qualcomm has also invested Rs. 730 Crore for 0.15% stakes in Reliance Jio platforms. The US-based chipset designer has already designed 4G featured phone chipset which will power the Jio phones. The way Reliance Jio is progressing seems impressive.
Read: Do we need 5G in Nepal now?
Cheap 5G phones
Reliance Jio isn’t stopping here. They plan to deliver 5G cheap phones after they provide this batch of cheap 4G phones. Their homegrown 5G solution will be featured in these phones. The company also plans to export this 5G Network Solution to other countries if it achieves success in India. It seems as if they are going on pace for this. Not forgetting, many equipment suppliers including Samsung and universities to have started researching and developing 6G Technology.
Reliance Jio has applied for 5G field trials in few metro cities in India. If the trial testing is approved and the company achieves success in their trails then they would be selected in a group of countries that can sell their own 5G solution globally. It is a great deal for the telecom operator as only a few handfuls of telcos have managed to achieve own standard but not yet globally.
