MUMBAI: India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani said Friday that his telecoms venture Jio would launch a free smartphone, escalating a price war that is shaking up the country’s ultra-competitive mobile market.
The announcement, made at a boisterous Reliance Industries annual general meeting in Mumbai, sent shares in rival telecoms operator Bharti Airtel plummeting almost six percent.
“This breakthrough and revolutionary device named JioPhone, along with Jio’s disruptive tariff, will unleash the power of digital life in the hands of 1.3 billion citizens of the largest democracy in the world,” said Ambani.
The tycoon told shareholders and staff, who regularly burst into chants of “Jio, Jio, Jio,” that the phone, the latest entry into India’s crowded market, would be available from September.
He said customers would only have to pay a deposit of 1,500 rupees ($23.32) for the 4G-enabled device, which would be fully refundable after three years.
The announcement comes almost a year after Ambani launched the Reliance Jio 4G network with free voice calls for life and vastly cheaper data plans, forcing rivals to dramatically slash their tariffs.
Jio has signed up 125 million subscribers since its launch in September 2016, causing a rush to consolidation in the multi-billion-dollar sector as competitors scramble to match its deep pockets.
British mobile phone giant Vodafone is merging its Indian unit with Idea Cellular to help fend off Jio, which is backed by Reliance Industries — India’s immensely wealthy energy-to-chemicals conglomerate headed by Ambani.
Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have endured losses since Jio’s arrival and shares in the companies fell nearly three percent and six percent respectively following Ambani’s announcement Friday. Reliance rose three percent.
The news will have also been carefully watched by South Korean tech giant Samsung and Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi who possess the lion’s share of India’s smartphone market.
Samsung leads the market with 28 percent while nearly 14 percent of phones sold in India are made by Xiaomi, according to a study by the International Data Corporation, an IT research firm.
India’s Ambani to launch free smartphone as he shakes up telecoms
India’s Ambani to launch free smartphone as he shakes up telecoms
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
- Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
