The collaboration between Reliance Jio and Google Cloud, combined with the planned launch of the affordable 5G Jio Phone Next on September 10, is hoped to greatly increase the number of people who can access the latest telecom technology in India.
Jio is already conducting trials of its indigenously-developed 5G stack. And, at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Chairman Mukesh Ambani promised that the Jio Phone Next would not only be the most affordable phone in India, but also among the cheapest globally.
Experts say the phone could cause a stir in the market.
“It is expected that this phone will have the capability to pull customers who prefer using phones in the price range of Rs 5,000-7,000 and even lower. Jio has already established itself as a hot favourite among its loyalists. This new offering from Jio and Google will encourage customers to switch to this device due to the trust value behind it. Brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Lava and Micromax may face significant impact from this new made-in-India competition since they mostly dominate this price bracket,” observed Nakul Kumar, COO and Co-Founder, Cashify.
Telecom experts believe that in line with all other offerings from Jio this 5G handset is sure to bring a new level of affordability in the 5G device range.
“Today, Jio has matured enough to become an operator that is carrying a unique ecosystem of content and e-commerce driven offerings that can enable innovative experiences for its users. At the same time, the Jio Phone Next has huge potential to democratize the availability of 5G in the country. Given the ongoing pandemic era, this can also ensure elevated education from home, work from home and entertainment from home experiences in India,” pointed out Zia Askari, a telecom expert and Editor of TelecomDrive.com.
At the same time, market experts point out that India has a significantly large population of feature phone users. Aspirationally, the next phone they would like to buy is a smartphone. “If Jio can offer a smartphone at a sweet spot pricing, Jio could be looking at a significant revenue opportunity. Plus, Jio's smartphone could also induce new customers to expand their data usage. The ARPU may decline a bit but in totality, Jio's revenue will positively move northwards,” remarked Alok Shende of Mumbai-based Ascentius Consulting.
The collaboration of Jio with Google Cloud is expected to provide an end-to-end cloud offering for fully automated lifecycle management of Jio’s 5G network and services. Google Cloud’s expertise is further expected to help Jio’s 5G service and help its users to access the 5G network extensively across the country.
“Jio is already working on 5G trials and will collaborate with Google Cloud for solutions. This is seen as the first step towards made-in-India technology. Jio Fiber has become the fastest-growing fixed broadband operator in India and this collaboration might be the dark horse top-line contributor for Jio,” said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, CapitalVia Global Research Ltd.