4G LTE

Airtel launches affordable 4G smartphone with Karbonn Mobiles

October 11, 2017

Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel has selected Karbonn Mobiles to launch affordable 4G smartphone in India.

Airtel will be competing with Reliance Jio and BSNL in the 4G phone space. Reliance Jio has already launched its 4G feature phone. BSNL is in talks with Micromax to bring its own smartphone to offer bundled voice and data services.

The strategy behind the decision to launch cost effective smartphone at the price of a feature phone is to further penetrate its 4G market presence. Bharti Airtel is rallying behind Reliance Jio in terms of 4G market share. Reliance Jio has 130 million 4G subscribers. Airtel does not share its 4G customer base.

Bharti Airtel said it will be associating with other mobile handset manufacturers to bring affordable bundled 4G smartphone options to the market.

The effective price of Karbonn A40 Indian will be Rs 1,399 as compared to its current market price of appx Rs 3,499.

Airtel said Karbonn A40 Indian has a full touch screen plus dual SIM slots, and offers complete access to all apps on Google Play Store, including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The 4G smartphone comes with a monthly pack of Rs 169 from Airtel, which offers “generous” data and calling benefits to consumers.

Reliance Jio 4G phone limits the use of external applications.

Airtel conditions

Customers can make a down payment of Rs 2,899 for the 4G smartphone and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169. The customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1,000 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1,500.

In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, the customer has flexibility of doing recharges of any denomination and validity as per individual requirements.

Customers must recharge worth Rs 3,000 within the first 18 months to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500 and another Rs 3,000 recharge over the next 18 months to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1,000. There is no need to return the device to Airtel / Karbonn at any point to claim the cash benefit.