Inside Jio’s new plan to poach 2G subscribers from Airtel, Vodafone Idea

A fierce fight is set to break out among telcos for some 350 million feature phone users, with Reliance Jio close to finalising partnerships with Indian and Chinese handset makers to launch subsidised SIM-locked smartphones bundled with 4G data, voice, and own content services, people familiar with the matter said. They added that telco has already inked its first such tie-up with China’s iTel brand for launching 4G smartphones likely in the Rs 3,000-4,000 range.

The launches—which will come in the lead up to the affordable 4G smartphones to be developed under the Jio-Google partnership—is aimed at attracting a bulk of the roughly 350 million featurephone subscribers, most of whom are on the networks of rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, especially in semi-urban and rural areas, people familiar with the matter said.