Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) is on the verge of rolling out further generation (4G) services across India. The Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom company has been in the news for the past year or so regarding its plans for launching telecom services. In fact, RJIL is the only company to hold a pan-India 4G license. RJIL, a subsidiary of India’s largest private sector enterprise, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)has been attracting attention from a variety of domestic & international vendors about the possibility of collaborating with India’s hottest new company in the mobile space.
One such company is the Chinese Manufacturer, Oppo. Oppo has grown to be one of the most popular OEMs from China and it plans to bring a portfolio of 4G devices to India soon. The company is reportedly in talks with Reliance Jio in order to create tie-ups and provide LTE services for its handsets. The General Manager of the company’s India operations, Steven Shi Feng said that the company plans to bring a total of 5 new devices with LTE capable radios onboard. Crucially, the company plans to introduce a device in the sub-10,000 range – a first for a 4G/LTE ready device. Oppo has so far been tight0lipped about which specific devices they plan on releasing in the Indian market. As a result, many analysts believe that the company could actually launch some brand new designs in the Indian market to test the waters.
The great thing for Indian consumers is that many OEM (Original equipment manufacturers) are lining up to release phones in the Indian market which has seen unprecedented YoY growth for so many years in a row. With 3G well-established and on the verge of 4G, the market presents a rare and unique opportunity for many manufacturers to launch handsets in a price-sensitive market which still demands a lot of quality. ZTE has confirmed that it plans to launch 6 new Android smartphones in the future, but has made no mention whether they will support LTE.
What’s more, LTE networks haven’t been established throughout the country as yet. Airtel has its TD-LTE services running in a few locations, while Reliance Jio plans to launch its own in the coming months. Idea Cellular and Vodafone are expected to follow suite.
Oppo’s recently launch Find 7 flagship is priced at Rupees 37,990 in India with a QHD display or Rupees 31,990 for a lower-specced 1080p version.