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Internet

Frequent internet bans hurdle for J&K’s telecom growth story

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Frequent internet bans hurdle for J&K’s telecom growth story

File Photo

Even as Jammu and Kashmir has added almost 2 lakh new mobile subscribers every month between February 2017 to April 2017, Kashmir has already faced four internet bans in last six months causing huge losses to telecom companies operating in this region and bringing inconvenience to common people, particularly business community and students.

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) J&K had total number of of 1.2 crore mobile subscribers at the end of April.

 

An executive of a private mobile company, wishing not to be named said “it is  ironical” that on one hand the state has managed to cross 1.2 crore active mobile subscribers recently and on the other hand frequent internet bans is proving to be a dampener for mobile companies who continue to suffer huge losses due to internet bans.

According to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) mobile service providers suffered losses worth Rs 180 crore during the 3 months of complete communication ban with daily losses of almost Rs 2 crore when both calling and data services were banned in Kashmir. “The companies continue to suffer losses every time there is internet ban as data consumption in Kashmir is massive,” he said.

While internet was suspended twice between January 2016 and April 2017, it was again suspended in last week of May when Hizb Commander Sabzar Ahmad was killed by government forces.

While 2G, 3G, 4G internet services were suspended during May end, the latest internet ban- in place since Friday- has witnessed suspension of even BSNL Broadband services, which otherwise used to be the only source of internet operational during previous internet shutdowns.

“This time around the authorities have managed to suspend even Broadband which was quite useful during the last internet ban,” said a young techie who had launched an alternate online social media network during the last internet ban.

The ongoing internet suspension is 33rd since 2012. Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), a Delhi-based not-for-profit organisation in its recently released figures had claimed that internet services were shut 31 times in J&K between 2012 to April 2017 and again banned in May 2017.

Even as the telecom in J&K seems on a growth trajectory, the impact of internet ban has been silently taking a toll on overall growth of J&K as a telecom hub. As per latest TRAI figures, JK had witnessed a growth of 1.73 percent in new mobile subscriptions in March, 2017 which was the most added by any state. However, the state witnessed a drop in its position in April 2017 as it featured at second slot after neighbouring Punjab in terms of additions of new mobile subscribers. It witnessed a growth of 0.91 percent in April adding more than one lakh subscribers while in March J&K had added more than 2 lakh subscribers.

“Had the internet bans and communication gags not taken place, J&K has the maximum potential to emerge as the fastest growing state in telecom industry. It keeps on losing its top slot as the state with maximum monthly growth of mobile subscribers as the internet gag literally backs the break of this industry,” the executive said.

[“Source-greaterkashmir”]

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Internet

Ericsson Mobility Report Sees Growth in Data Traffic, VoLTE Subscriptions in India by 2022

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Ericsson Mobility Report Sees Growth in Data Traffic, VoLTE Subscriptions in India by 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Ericsson unveiled its Mobility Report 2017 for India
  • Sees an uptake in data traffic driven by increased video consumption
  • 4G users nearly 1.5 times more satisfied than 3G users

As we enter a time where the most popular term in technology today is the Internet of Things, that is expected to surpass mobile phones as the largest category of connected devices by 2018, we now also see the beginnings of 5G network deployment that will look to support IoT, and a growing need for enhanced mobile broadband capabilities, according to a new report by Ericsson.

The recent approval of the Non-Standalone 5G New Radio (NR) that will enable early 5G deployment, will help achieve more than half a billion 5G subscriptions by 2022, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2017. Companies such as Verizon have begun 5G trials in the US, while Indian telecom operators are also expected to adopt 5G technology this year.

But before 5G takes over, Ericsson sees 4G, or LTE, will overtake GSM by 2018 to become the dominant access technology, making it the fastest growing mobile technology in history, having already covered 2.5 billion people within five years.

Ericsson estimates around 29 billion connected devices by 2022, out of which 18 billion will be related to IoT. Furthermore, it sees over 1 million new mobile broadband subscribers being added each day to reach around 2.6 billion by 2022. Data growth is at its highest since 2013, thanks to a massive growth in India.

India specific growth
Ericsson on Wednesday released its Ericsson Mobility Report 2017, India Annexure, which reports specific trends in mobile traffic, subscriptions, consumer behavior, and technology uptake in the country. Mobile subscription base in India crossed 1.2 billion in Jan 2017 and is expected to increase by 4 percent, crossing 1.4 billion by 2022. One of the main reasons behind the uptick in subscriptions is the downpour of tariff offers by telcos, after Reliance Jio’s entry.

Lower tariff plans for higher data in recent months have also led to an increased amount of data consumption. According to the report, 1 exabyte (1 exabyte is 1 billion gigabytes) of traffic per month is consumed in India and is expected to grow to 8EB per month by 2022. Currently, an average of 4GB per month is consumed by an active Indian smartphone, but Ericsson sees the number rise to 11GB by 2022. 191 million cellular IoT devices by 2022.
Some of the other reasons driving data traffic includes and increased distribution, and consumption of video and multimedia services as well as growth in mobile banking transactions and digital payments, the latter of which can be credited in part to demonetisation.

Consumer behavior and VoLTE adoption in India
But data traffic and subscribers uptake mostly boil down to the performance of mobile broadband in India, and Ericsson says that consumers have four main indices on to measure and evaluate network performance: time taken to upload pictures to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, time taken to open a web page, time taken for a video to buffer or load and download time for email attachments.

“As new apps continue to emerge and usage behavior evolves, network performance will play a more important role in determining smartphone users’ loyalty towards their operators in the future. In fact, mobile broadband experience in India is five times more effective in driving loyalty than tariff structure and pricing,” says Nitin Bansal, Head of Network Products, Ericsson India.

To put it down in numbers, Ericsson’s report expects smartphone subscriptions to reach 890 million by 2022 in India alone and will account for 60 percent of total mobile subscriptions in the country. As of 2016, 70 percent of all mobiles subscription are on GSM technology, and the report foresees that by the next five years, 85 percent will be on LTE and WCDMA/ HSPA technologies.

The increasing adoption of 4G will also drive VoLTE subscriptions, which is expected to reach 4.6 billion by 2022, out of which 370 million is expected to come from India. The report also reveals that 4G users are nearly 1.5 times more satisfied than 3G users, when it comes to data centric services such as video load times while streaming.

The report also highlights the benefits of VoLTE, which includes improved voice quality, high traffic capacity at lower cost, enhanced coverage, long battery life, video calling (ViLTE) from native dialer, among other things. “VoLTE represents a great opportunity for telecom operators in India who are looking to route voice calls over 4G LTE networks enabling lower cost per minute for voice calls as well as free up legacy spectrum bands for re-farming,” states Bansal.

[“Source-ndtv”]

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Education

Bays precinct: Schools hit with Urban Growth development ‘propaganda’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

NSW Labor has labelled a children’s book that highlights the benefits of the government’s multi-billion dollar re-development of the Bays Precinct in central Sydney as “propaganda” and demanded it be withdrawn from the state’s classrooms.

The picture book, pushed into schools by the NSW government’s property development arm, UrbanGrowth, also comes with a teacher’s guide on educating students about the project that will encompass the Ultimo, Rozelle, Pyrmont and Glebe foreshore.

“It’s a big picture, very visual, colourful book,” says Belinda Thompson, the schools manager for UrbanGrowth NSW in a video promoting the resource.

The video also features UrbanGrowth’s public relations specialist, Holly Langler, giving a lesson to children in a public primary school.

The book does not give alternative voices who might be concerned by the development or to those who work in the area such as maritime contractors.

On Thursday, Labor leader Luke Foley called for the withdrawal of the resource. “This government propaganda push is what you would expect to occur in a third-world banana republic,” he said.

It is the second school-based public relations initiative from the Baird government in the past year after it awarded a $2 million contract to Elton Consulting to spruik a rail line to primary and secondary children titled: “How the Sydney Metro Northwest will change their communities for the better”.

Despite being among the features highlighted by the children’s book, the government has yet to outline a significant transport proposal that will allow the tens of thousands of residents and workers to move efficiently into the Bays precinct everyday.

UrbanGrowth’s own CEO, David Pitchford said last year the area would be a “disaster” without a proper transport plan beyond the existing light rail.

“We’ve got to address that really important question of mass transit and introduce a whole range of things that will be unpalatable to the government in terms of the level of investment – but without that, it will be a disaster,” he told the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects.

The UrbanGrowth booklet being taught to school children
The UrbanGrowth booklet being taught to school children  Photo: UrbanGrowth

The picture book also features colourful characters spruiking the attractiveness of the area.

“When I finished studying, I moved overseas to find work. Now that there are more high tech jobs at White Bay Power Station, I’ve moved back to Sydney. My family love living nearby because there’s always something exciting happening,” says one bespectacled “tech” worker.

But a single developer has yet to be appointed to construct the White Bay technology hub after the government rejected 13 private sector proposals for the site’s transformation because it relied too heavily on housing density to offset the cost of remediation.

Among other features, the book also highlights an imaginary campus promoted by a laptop-carrying student.

“I looked all over the world for the best courses and chose the new campus at Glebe Island. I love that it’s so close to the port, the new tech hub at White Bay Power Station and other marine activities,” she says.

But universities and educational institutions are yet to commit to the area despite UNSW, UTS, Macquarie and the University of Sydney all voicing interest.

On Thursday, Mr Foley said schools should not be grounds for political influence.

“Our primary schools should stick to the basics and focus on teaching reading, writing and arithmetic,” he said.

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the independent Board of Studies creates the curriculum used in NSW schools.

“Decisions about teaching resources – whether they are to be used in geography classes, or music, or maths – are made by the principal,” Mr Piccoli said.

“Teachers will often incorporate local areas of interest, to give students real-world examples to further their understanding of curriculum.

“But promoting government projects is not part of the syllabus or the curriculum. Never has been, and never will be.”

A spokesman for UrbanGrowth said the book was specifically designed as part of a collaborative learning program to support the Board of Studies geography syllabus, which focuses on connectivity, sustainability, environment and liveability across all school years.

“It was produced at the request of schools seeking a range of education resources to support those classes. It is up to individual schools how they use the booklet,” he said.

[Source:- smh.au]

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News Update

Three Company Optimization Methodologies That Will Enhance Business Growth

by admin
written by admin

If business growth is at the top of your company’s priority list, know that you can make ongoing expansion a reality for your organization. The key to success is being consistent and strategic in your approach to realizing the objective. Here are three methodologies you can implement now to get the business optimization process off to a great start:

1. Shop Online For Commercial Equipment.

One great way to keep your business growing is by shopping online for the commercial equipment you need. This technique is effective because it helps you avoid the hassle of driving to a physical store and dealing with pushy sales people. In some cases, you can even get discounted rates on your products when you shop online. If your company makes regular use of broadband equipment, you can obtain new items from companies such as Werlatone. This company offers a wide range of products, including the rf directional coupler.

2. Implement SMART Goals.

Another strategy that will help you really get your company moving forward is implementing SMART goals. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-specific. Implementing SMART goals will empower you by ensuring that you can establish clear objectives and then move forward with tools and strategies that help you realize the goal. An example of a good business-related SMART goal would be “We will hire two salespeople for the summer season to increase conversion rates by 23%.” Remember to ensure that your goals are written down. Ideally, they should be placed in a conspicuous region of your office so that you are constantly thinking about them.

3. Update Your Marketing Campaign.

If you’re really serious about keeping your company in a state of growth, make sure that you update your marketing campaign. Doing so will empower you to interface with members of your target market in an ongoing, interactive manner that accelerates brand awareness and promotes conversion. There are multiple marketing modalities you can implement to achieve these outcomes, including the use of PR services like social media optimization, press releases, and content marketing.

Conclusion

If you’re ready to implement company optimization strategies that will keep your business on the path to perpetual expansion, you can get the process underway right now. Some of the techniques you may find particularly useful include shopping online for commercial equipment, implementing SMART goals, and updating your marketing campaign.

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Tech Update

Spotify says growth has quickened since Apple Music’s launch

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Music streaming service Spotify has seen a faster pace of growth since the launch in June last year of rival Apple Music (AAPL.O), a top executive said on Monday.

Spotify, which was created in Stockholm 10 years ago, now boasts of having close to 100 million users in more than 59 markets, despite increasing competition and, so far, a lack of profits.

“It’s great that Apple is in the game. They are definitely raising the profile of streaming. It is hard to build an industry on your own,” Jonathan Forster, a vice president and one of its first employees, told Reuters in an interview.

“Since Apple Music started we’ve been growing quicker and adding more users than before.”

“It would be terrible if we were just taking each other’s users or to learn there was just a ceiling of 100 million users – I don’t think that is the case,” said Forster, who had just returned to Stockholm from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California.

Spotify now has 30 million paying users, making it the market leader in music streaming, while Apple Music has reported having 13 million paying subscribers since its launch last year in over 100 countries.

But the company is facing competition on more fronts than just Apple, from players such as Pandora Media Inc (P.N) and newer rivals such as German start-up SoundCloud and U.S. music producer and rapper Jay Z’s Tidal. Meanwhile Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google is competing with both YouTube and Google Play Music.

Forster said having multiple streaming services was not sustainable in the long run.

“My Internet history would tell me that there’s probably not going to be that many significant players, and then maybe smaller niche cases … maybe there could be a classical music streaming service,” he said. “It’s a hard business.”

Asked about acquisition possibilities, Forster said future purchases would be on a similar scale to its recent deals in order to bring on new teams and technology.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spotify continue to invest in areas that are relevant or adjacent to our business,” he said.

Revenues will continue to come largely from subscriptions but Spotify will also hunt for other income in areas such as concerts, merchandising and video, though Forster was quick to add that the company was “not trying to be a Netflix (NFLX.O)”.

The company on Monday launched a new video offering which will include exclusive content, like short, behind-the-scenes videos of artists.

And Spotify has no intention of slowing its pace of expansion, having said in March that it had raised $1 billion in convertible debt from U.S. firms TPG Capital [TPG.UL] and Dragoneer Investment Group.

Forster said that it was reassuring that the company’s conversion rate for turning new users of the advertising-based service into subscribers, had held up at 25 to 30 percent, despite its user growth.

“That should have a negative effect on the conversion rate but it hasn’t,” he said.

Asked whether Spotify could be an acquisition target for a larger technology company like Google or Facebook(FB.O), Forster said: “I’ve always felt Spotify likes being Spotify. We have fought to get to where we are today and we are quite happy and it would be emotionally hard not to be us, but who knows?”

“I think that people have really woken up to the opportunity of streaming. We can see that it is just the beginning. We’ve never grown quicker than we have.”

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Education

Foreign investment in the Indian Education Sector: Possibilities of growth and strength

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Foreign investment in the Indian education sector: Possibilities of growth and strength

Foreign investment in the Indian education sector: Possibilities of growth and strength

India is a treasure trove of inquisitive minds. With around 500 million of its citizens in the 5-24 year age bracket, the nation is home to the world’s largest population of the young. When such a huge expanse of its people is in a developing and growing phase of their lives, education has a huge role to play in there and the country’s growth.

When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stepped into the Parliament to deliver her speech on Budget Day 2020, India’s young and learning youth had their hopes on her shoulder. And the government didn’t disappoint. Over the course of her detailed and strategic speech, Sitharaman outlined certain developments that hold great promise for India’s education sector.

The big news was – a massive allocation of INR 99,300 crores in the country’s educational development, INR 3000 crores allocated to skill developments and above all an ease of rules to facilitate foreign investment in India’s education sector.

Foreign Investment in the Indian Education Sector: Possibilities of growth and Strength”

So, what does the government’s decision towards supporting the influx of foreign investment signal for India’s education sector?

To begin with, it definitely holds immense potential for growth. The government’s new policy will open up India’s regulated education sector to global players. With an increasing requirement of quality education for its youth, the nation will now encourage Foreign Direct Investment and external commercial borrowings in education.

  • According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, since the turn of the millennium till 2019, India has seen an influx of USD 2.47 billion into its education system. And the growth in those two decades has been clear for everyone to witness.
  • With around 3900+ establishments, India leads the way in nations with most universities. The country is also amidst a rapid expansion in internet education.
  • India currently stands just behind China, in its population with internet reach and usage of mobile phones. With the widespread use of the internet supporting the country’s educational pursuits, India also finds itself as one of the leading powerhouses of the e-learning industry.

And these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, as to the potential that education in India holds. The India Brand Equity Foundation projected that by 2019 end, India’s education industry was set to be valued at over 100 billion US Dollars. Plus add to that a burgeoning population of youth in their school and college-going years, quality education is a primary need for the nation. And you can envision the expansion that’s required in our current education model and how the emergence of foreign players can support that.

Be it the Indian government signing a loan agreement with World Bank for the SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) Project or state authorities like the Maharashtra International Education Board signing a partnership with Google, foreign investment has been trickling in steadily into the education ecosystem.

As a part of her Budget 2020 speech, Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted the importance of foreign investment and talent coming into the Indian education sphere. She strengthened the government’s vision of making India an education destination for other countries, with the launch of the IND-SAT exam for Asia and Africa.

And as India opens its doors to the world’s best in education, the nation stands to nurture, hone and be home to an educated, skilled and ready bunch of bright minds for the future.

[“source=indiatoday”]

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Internet

Internet service JV eyes double-digit growth in Myanma

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Passakorn Hongsyok, general manager of Myanmar Information Highway at the MIH Office in Yangon.

Myanmar Information Highway (MIH), a joint venture between Benchachinda Group and local companies that provides broadband Internet services in Myanmar, hopes to enjoy double-digit growth this year, according to Passakorn Hongsyok, the firm’s general manager.

Passakorn said in an exclusive interview to The Nation that the firm aims to serve 2,000 corporate clients in Yangon by the end of 2019. MIH currently serves less than 1,000 businesses and its monthly revenue is in the low six-digit figure in US dollar terms.

“We only focus on B2B [business to business] operations. Our target clients are businesses in Myanmar willing to substantially improve their performance with the help of technology,” he said.

According to Passakorn, the income from corporate clients mainly drives MIH’s revenue, though small and medium enterprises account for around 30 per cent of its client base. He seemed content with providing high-speed broadband Internet to a large number of Thai companies based in the neighbouring country.

This year, the firm plans to expand its network coverage in Yangon, rather than expanding to other cities. Passakorn expects to cover 80 per cent of Myanmar’s commercial hub by March 2019.

“Expansion beyond Yangon is definitely on our radar. But we do not want to make haste. For the time being, our focus is Yangon where the majority of corporates are based,” said Passakorn.

The firm has fully covered 23 townships in Yangon including the central business district areas. This year, MIH’s expansion plan will prioritise on industrial zones to better serve its corporate clients. From 2020 onwards, the firm aims to expand to other cities including Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

“Banks, financial services, wholesalers and some ISPs [Internet service providers] are using our services. We have our own cloud so we can bring high standard cloud services to them. We are also providing value-added services for business customers,” said Passakorn.

The firm was incorporated in 2014 under Myanmar’s existing laws to provide premier broadband Internet and data communication services to the nation. In 2015, Benchachinda Group started investing in MIH and bringing in the expertise of its subsidiary, United Information Highway. Utilising advanced optical fibre technology, MIH offers a stable and high capacity broadband platform in Myanmar. Currently, Benchachinda Group holds around 70 per cent stake in the firm.

“We put our investment into MIH in 2015, as part of our plan for regional expansion. In the early years, we had to struggle a lot because there was some hesitation and disputes during the previous government’s term. Things were stalled and not really active until 2017,” Passakorn recalled.

In September 2018, the firm commenced its commercial operations with the launch of Myanmar’s fastest fibre-optic Internet service for businesses. By incorporating its expertise in Thailand and the latest technology, MIH aims to provide a professional service on the most stable telecom platฌform in Yangon.

In pursuit of its vision to become the best broadband service provider for businesses in Myanmar, the firm aims to create a benchmark in the industry for comprehensive connectivity solutions for its clients via extensive netฌwork coverage and international accreditation, said Passakorn.

“Our mission is to connect businesses and society through innovative ICT solutions. We have dedicated technical support teams and round-the-clock monitoring ensures that our business clients will be able to run smoothly. So, we ensure that we maintain high reliability and quality for infrastructure,” he said.

MIH offers premium data services to businesses via a stable and advanced optical fibre technology, up to 10 gigabytes per second.

For IP VPN service, MIH provides a virtual private network to business customers who need private and secured services as well as round-the-clock data centre solutions where the customers choose the environment they need – servers, databases, storage, Internet connection, bandwidth and rack space. MIH’s network is able to connect with the global network via Point of Presence in Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.

“Our backbone network capacity is developed to support up to 100Gbps. With global technology partners, we are ready to support leading corporates to operate effectively in Myanmar,” said Passakorn.

Last year, MIH secured approval from the Yangon City Development Committee to lay down fibre-optic netฌwork across townships in the city. On October 12, 2018, the firm rolled out Myanmar’s first hybrid Cloud service (MIH CloudShare) for enterprises. The service supports Windows, Mac, iOS and Android without any hardฌware implementation, and provides easy collaboration through online editฌing with daily backup. It provides easy access anywhere regardless of device or operation system, at a reasonable price.

“Our CloudShare service marks a new era, particularly in Myanmar, with its versatility, agility and security for users in the market. The service offers users opportunities for closer collaboration, access to a virtual office that is user-friendly and secure,” said Passakorn.

The firm now has nearly 50 team members, the majority of them locals, except seven Thai employees. It aims to expand its workforce to 70 employees within one year, hiring more marketing and engineering staff.

[“source=nationmultimedia”]

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Internet

Facebook Says Digital India Initiative Is a Key Growth Enabler for It

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Facebook Says Digital India Initiative Is a Key Growth Enabler for It

Digital India is certainly a big opportunity for both economic growth and innovation and the growth Facebook is witnessing in the country is a clear example of that, a top company executive said on Wednesday.

According to Kevin Martin, Vice President for Mobile and Global Access Policy at Facebook, the government’s digital initiative has opened several opportunities when it comes to innovate and build for the country.

“In India, 201 million people are active on Facebook. The country is home to one of the world’s largest developers’ community. There are over two million SMB (Small and Medium Business) Pages on Facebook in India,” Martin said during one of the plenary sessions at the first-ever ‘India Mobile Congress 2017’ here.

Before joining Facebook, Martin worked as Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

A recent survey by Facebook revealed that while 43 percent of Indian exporters in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) depend on online tools for 75 percent of their international sales, 63 per cent agree that using online tools for selling internationally has increased their revenue.

“More than 270 million people around the world are connected to a small business in India. These businesses are using technology to grow, build new opportunities and find customers at home and abroad,” said Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy for Facebook India and South Asia, recently.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

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Tech Update

Indian Smartphone Market Will See Strong Growth in Q3, Says JP Morgan

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Indian Smartphone Market Will See Strong Growth in Q3, Says JP Morgan

A strong pick-up in smartphone market is expected in the third quarter of 2017 driven by improved sentiments and inventory build up before the upcoming festive season, according to a report by JP Morgan.

The report estimated that demand was soft in the Indian smartphone market in the second quarter (April-June) 2017 compared to the year-ago period, given the lack of clarity around GST implementation that “postponed the usual inventory build”.

Also the demand was impacted on account of slower conversion of feature phone users to smartphone users.

“We believe that sentiment has improved in early July and the third quarter of 2017 should see a strong pick-up with inventory builds and preparation for the peak sell through season in late third quarter and early fourth quarter,” the report on ‘India smartphone market’ said.

It added the July-September quarter could see 25-30 percent sequential growth in smartphone units, implying a seven percent year-on-year growth.

The report noted that smartphones accounted for 45 percent of the total handsets in April-June quarter. It “may remain in the same range, affected in the short-term by the launch of the Rs. 1,500 ($23) Reliance Jio feature phone”.

Last month, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio had announced its new feature phone, offering life-long free voice calls bundled with 4G data streaming at an “effective price of zero”. The phone, targeted at 50 crore feature phone users in the country, will be available for pre-booking from August 24 on payment of a refundable security deposit of Rs. 1,500.

“This is likely to appeal heavily to current feature phone users, who are primarily on the 2G network. This may slow the migration from feature phone to smartphones for some users in the near term…,” the JP Morgan report said.

However, as prices come down, the adoption should again pick up, the report added.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

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