Reliance JioPhone, announced at the company's AGM on 21 July, could prove to be a huge disrupter in the market because of the offers it comes with. The phone, according to Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is effectively free as it comes with a refundable deposit of Rs 1,500.
This deposit can be claimed after three years, once the instrument is returned. But how many would really return the instrument? The investment may not seem like much for a smart feature phone, but if you look at the numbers Reliance is planning to roll out, the figures are staggering.
This year, the company plans to sell about 18 million phones. That would net it about Rs 2,700 crore by December itself. Even if it had to return the money to users at the end of three years, it would earn substantial interest on the money collected. Its real revenue though will come from the data charges – which seem low right now – but will create a captive, addicted audience over the next few years, slowly increasing its average revenue per user.
The Quint decodes what this could mean.
Also Read: Free Reliance Jio 4G VoLTE Feature Phone Launched
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