Reliance Jio 4G phone booking to start at 5.30 pm today

JioPhone will have an effective price of Rs 0 as buyers will be able to get the device for a one-time refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500.

New Delhi: The booking for Reliance Jio's much anticipated 4G feature phone named JioPhone will start at 5.30 pm on Thursday.

The JioPhone was made available for user testing in beta form August 15.

JioPhone will be physically available to those who have pre-booked, on a first come first serve basis from September onwards.

Addressing the annual meeting of shareholders of RIL, the parent of Jio, Chairman Anil Ambani last month said that the handset, will have "an effective price of Rs 0" as buyers will be able to get the device for a one-time refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500.

The deposit will be refunded after 36 months on return of the phone. Voice calling will be free for life while unlimited data packs will cost Rs 153 a month on the device, he added.

The company will make available 5 million phones every week and manufacture all JioPhones in India from "last quarter of this year", he said indicating that the phones are made by a vendor outside the country.