Indian telecoms company Reliance said on Monday it was working with Alphabet’s Google to launch a low-cost 5G smartphone.
At the company’s annual meeting, Reliance’s chairman of the board of directors, Mukesh Ambani, said that the 5G network of Jio, the company’s conglomerate, will be the largest in the world, being rolled out in major cities across the country, including New Delhi and Mumbai, before expanding across India by December of the next year.
Ambani, one of India’s richest men, said only that the cell phone being developed with Google will be “ultra-affordable”.
The cheapest 5G mobile phones currently sell for around $150 in India, where around 700 million people don’t own a smartphone.
“To conquer the 5G mass market, a cell phone under $100 is imperative and Jio is well positioned to bring 5G to the masses,” said Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint.
Reliance’s 5G plans challenge rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea in the world’s second-largest mobile market.
Airtel and Vodafone shares closed down 1.3% and 3.3%, respectively, in negative session in Mumbai, where Reliance shares also fell 0.78%.
Ambani added that he would provide an update next year on initial public offering (IPO) plans for Reliance’s digital and retail units, which have raised an estimated $22 billion from global investors such as KKR and Silver Lake in 2020.
Source: CNN Brasil
