Airtel is presently in talks to launch its own 4G-enabled handsets in India within Rs. 4,000, state reports. The move is a direct intention to rival Reliance Jio's plans to launch 4G-enabled sub-4k handsets to promote 4G connectivity in India.
Although an official announcement is yet to be made, Airtel is believed to be targeting a price range of Rs. 4,000-12,000, and an industry source familiar with the situation has been quoted across reports, stating that negotiations are on within Airtel about whether it will be an Airtel-branded phone, or a co-branded one. Airtel is believed to have held talks with Chinese phone vendors alongside manufacturing giants Foxconn, who have recently started manufacturing phones in India for Xiaomi and InFocus out of its new Andhra Pradesh plant.
The phones will be bundled with a long-term 4G subscription plan. However, contrary to expectations, it is believed to not be locked to the Airtel network. Airtel will possibly be targeting the festive period of Diwali in India for the launch of these handsets. The phones will also support dual-mode 4G services, with support set to be included for both FDD and TDD LTE networks. Airtel has been rolling out its 4G services in phases across the country.
The first city to get Airtel 4G services was Kolkata, in 2012. It has since expanded to cities like Pune, Bangalore and Chandigarh, among others. 4G trial services have also been started for subscribers in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and a few others.
Source: PTI