JioBharat Phone Captures Half Of Market Share In Sub-INR 1,000 Segment

Reliance Industries said in its FY24 annual report today (August 7) that its JioBharat feature phone has already commanded a 50% market share in the sub-INR 1,000 price segment.

Reliance’s digital and telecom business Jio unveiled its internet-enabled JioBharat feature phones in July last year, which was rolled out for the first 1 Mn users as part of a beta trial beginning that month. 

In January this year, JioBharat phone commanded a 45% market share in the sub-INR 1,000 price segment. The company has positioned the phone as the lowest-priced, made-in-India internet-enabled handset with affordable and competitive monthly service plans.

The company claimed that the JioBharat phone is helping over 10 Mn users upgrade to digital networks at affordable costs.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and MD of Reliance Industries, said in its annual report today, “The launch of JioBharat phone was another revolutionary step towards bridging the country’s digital divide. A smartphone at the price of a feature phone, the JioBharat phone will go a long way in the realisation of a 2G-mukt (2G-free) Bharat.”

Along with the JioBharat phone, Jio’s other products launched during FY24 included JioSpaceFiber, JioCloudXP, JioGamesCLoud, JioCloudPC, JioMotive, JioSafe and JioTranslate.

“In pursuit of developing innovative products and services at affordable prices, Jio Platforms and its subsidiaries have filed for 1,255 patents and were granted 144 patents

in FY 2023-24,” said Reliance in its annual report. “The cumulative count of patents granted has increased to 331 as of March 2024. These patents span across 6G, 5G, AI, LLM, deep learning, big data, devices, IoT and NB-IoT.”

It is worth noting that Reliance’s digital arm Jio Platforms posted an operating revenue of INR 1.09 Lakh Cr and a net profit of INR 21,423 Cr in FY24.

In the June quarter (Q1) of FY25, its net profit rose 12% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 5,698 Cr while operating revenue grew 13% YoY to INR 29,449 Cr.

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