Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd said on Monday it would launch a new internet-enabled phone priced at 999 rupees ($12.19) to boost digital adoption among entry level mobile phone users in the country.
“There are still 250 million mobile phone users in India who remain ‘trapped’ in the 2G era, … at a time when the world stands at the cusp of a 5G revolution,” Chairman Akash Ambani said in a statement. The beta trial for the first 1 million so-called Jio Bharat phones will begin on July 7, Reliance Jio said.