The new JioBharat 4G handset is all about bridging the digital divide in India. While on one end of the spectrum, people are using the latest iPhone with 5G connectivity and on the other end, around 250 million Indians are still stuck with 2G handsets. Reliance Jio aims to provide an opportunity to the less fortunate as to what a ‘digital mobile lifestyle’ is all about.
At a price of Rs 999 for the handset along with an additional Rs 123 per month for data plan, JioBharat phone users can watch IPL cricket matches, popular shows like ‘Asur’, ‘Inspector Avinash’ and ‘Rafuchakkar’ among others, thanks to the integrated JioCinema app. It’s understandable that the content watching experience will be limited due the small screen size of the JioBharat 4G handset but at least feature phone users will now have an option.
JioCinema had recently streamed IPL 2023 for free and not to forget, the 2022 FIFA World Cup was also available for free. JioCinema has acquired the digital rights to the Indian Premier League till 2027. This year all IPL matches were streamed for free in 12 languages. JioCinema has also acquired the digital rights to the new Women’s Premier League.
WATCH VIDEO: Reliance JioBharat V2 4G Mobile Unboxing
Also, in terms of software innovation, this is a milestone considering no other OTT player has thought of providing content for 250 million feature phone users in India.
The JioBharat 4G handset may not mean much for someone reading this article on a smartphone but ask someone who has spent Rs 1000 on a feature phone recently and all they could do is listen to music and FM Radio on it.
Also read: 5 Hot Features Of JioBharat 4G Mobile At Rs 999
Apart from entertainment, the JioBharat 4G handset will also help people to pay digitally using UPI. Very few feature phones support UPI and come with a dedicated UPI-enabled app. Of course, the ‘*99# UPI’ service is available for all mobiles but it has failed to gain much transaction due to the USSD code interface. With the JioPay app, users can scan and make payments like smartphone users do using Paytm, PhonePe or Google Pay.
At a price of Rs 999, the JioBharat handset is basically a feature phone but provides all the essential functionalities of a smartphone. There’s a subsidised data plan for the JioBharat phone as well which offers unlimited voice calls.
The data plan for the JioBharat handset is also the cheapest gateway to mobile internet. Jio claimed that the monthly plan is 30% cheaper and 7 times more data compared to feature phone offerings of other operators. For Rs 123 per month, users will get unlimited voice calls and 14 GB data, compared to other operator’s Rs 179 plan for voice calls and 2GB data.
Also read: JioBharat 4G Mobile Is For Those ‘Trapped’ In 2G Era, Says Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani
Another key aspect to consider is that Jio will allow other phone brands to adopt the JioBharat platform. This will enable other brands to also launch devices that are similar to this handset. “Besides Reliance Retail, other phone brands (starting with Karbonn), to adopt the ‘Jio Bharat platform’ to build Jio Bharat phones," said Jio.
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