Reliance Jio officially begins delivery of 6 million JioPhones

New Delhi: The delivery of much awaited Jio Phone has begun on Sunday.

The distribution of about 6 million JioPhones will be completed within 15 days, as per a channel partner of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL).

Deliveries of the low-cost 4G handsets will begin from rural areas and small towns before urban centres, the partner, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.

“The Chairman (Mukesh Ambani) had said that the JioPhone will bridge digital divide between rural and urban India. Therefore, delivery of JioPhone will start this Sunday in rural areas and small towns,” the channel partner said. Queries sent to Reliance Jio did not elicit any response.

Pre-booking of the JioPhone started on August 24 against payment of a refundable deposit of Rs 500. The remainder Rs 1,000 has to be paid by the customer when the company starts delivering the handsets. The entire amount will be refunded against return of the phone after three years.

“The delivery of first lot of 6 million will be completed in 10-15 days,” the source said. He, however, was not aware of the dates for the next round of booking for JioPhone.

About Jio Phone

The pre-booking of JioPhones started on August 24 against payment of a refundable deposit of Rs 500 and the remainder Rs 1,000 has to be paid by the customer when the company delivers them to the customer.

With 6 million units of sale, JioPhone is estimated to account for around 10 per cent of India's total mobile phone market in a quarter.

JioPhone, which can be operated by speaking out instructions to dial, type messages and the like, will come with pre-loaded Jio apps for messaging and entertainment. The phone can be connected with television sets for watching live TV using the Jio TV app.

The phone also includes some of the popular instant messaging and social networking apps.

With PTI Inputs