Jio has launched its internet-enabled JioBharat phone for the masses. The 4G powered phone is available at a small price of Rs. 999. This makes it accessible for a large portion of Indians who do not have access to the internet. According to a BoFA Securities research report, the JioBharat phone could have a 100 million users in the next two to three years.
Investment and financial services group Jefferies mentioned in a report that feature phone users are likely to save 26 percent of their mobile costs, including service costs at the end of their device life. However, users who do not wish to change their devices are unlikely to switch. “This leads to an annual addressable market of around 60-65 million users for JioBharat and we expect Jio to gain 55 million subscribers by Mar-26,” said the report.
“If RIL/Karbonn are able to scale up production of these phones, then we see the phone to have potential and could garner around 100 million users in next 2-3 years. We find both VIL (Vodafone Idea) and Bharti Airtel feature phones users vulnerable and see upside risks to Jio net adds,” BoFA Securities.
As per reports, Bharti Airtel currently has around 130 million 2G users and over 100 million paying voice subscribers. This gives them around 40-50 percent share in the 250 million feature phone market.
According to Jefferies, Bharti Airtel’s position in the feature phone market could cause higher user losses. “We expect Bharti to witness voice subscriber churn of 17 million by Mar-26 leading to a 1-4 percent cut to our FY24-26 India-mobile subscriber estimates.”