Reliance and Google collaborate to develop new smartphone

• Reliance announced on Monday that it is collaborating with Google to provide a low-cost 5G smartphone.
• 5G data speeds in India are anticipated to be roughly 10 times faster than those of 4G.
• Reliance purchased airwaves worth $11 billion earlier this month in a $19 billion 5G spectrum auction.

Reliance, the largest telecom provider in India, announced on Monday that it is collaborating with Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., to provide a low-cost 5G smartphone as part of a $25 billion ambition to offer the new cellular services within two months.

Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani stated during the company’s annual general meeting that Jio’s 5G network will be the largest in the world and will begin in major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai before being spread throughout India by December of next year.

One of the wealthiest individuals in India, Ambani, simply stated that the phone being created with Google would be “ultra-affordable.”

The least expensive 5G phones are presently available in India, where 700 million people do not own a smartphone.

A sub-$100 phone is necessary to bring 5G to the masses, and Jio is well-positioned to do so, according to Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint.

The network is viewed as essential for upcoming technologies like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence, and 5G data speeds in India are anticipated to be roughly 10 times faster than those of 4G.

In the second-largest mobile market in the world, Reliance’s 5G plans throw down the gauntlet to rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea.

In a sluggish Mumbai market where Reliance also down 0.78%, shares of Airtel and Vodafone closed down 1.3% and 3.3%, respectively.

Jio, the largest mobile network in India with more than 420 million subscribers, purchased airwaves worth $11 billion earlier this month in a $19 billion 5G spectrum auction.

The ambitious 5G strategy builds on Jio’s playbook for upending India’s telecoms market, which it used to debut inexpensive 4G data plans and free call services in 2016, as well as a 4G smartphone for just $81 in conjunction with Google. These moves set off a price war.

JioMart, a grocery shopping app from Reliance, will soon be integrated with investor-partner Meta Platform Inc.’s WhatsApp, enabling customers to make purchases using the messaging service.

Isha Ambani stated separately that Reliance will open a new consumer products company this year without providing any other information.

According to a May article, Reliance wants to develop a $6.5 billion company to compete with global goliaths like Unilever by acquiring dozens of grocery and non-food businesses.

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