Under the plan, consumers can choose their favourite smartphone and procure it from the operator without making any down-payments.
While Reliance Infocomm had provided cheap CDMA handsets earlier, RCom’s new plan is for those looking to buy costly handsets.
It has been tailor-made, claims the company, for consumers looking to buy a smartphone that is above Rs 20,000 but pay in instalments.
For now, the plan is available on the iPhone 5S and 5C and Samsung Galaxy phablets and smartphones, with plans to extend it to other handset brands.
For a fixed monthly payment, the subscriber gets unlimited surfing, calling and texting for 24 months.
RCom also claims that there will be no speed throttles or bandwidth reduction once she uses up a certain amount of data, unlike with dongles.
Only international calls and domestic roaming will be billed.
RCom had launched the iPhone 5 series under the scheme but will be extending it. Samsung smartphones have been added, while an RCom official says, “we are yet to decide on the rest of the brands for the plan”.
In the plan for the iPhone 5S, a user has to spend Rs 2,999 per month for the 16 GB version.
That would amount to Rs 71,976 over two years, while the handset retails at Rs 53,000.
For a data user with a monthly bill of above Rs 800, it would work out cheaper than a purchase from the open market.
And, data users usually run up an average bill of Rs 1,000-1,600, according to industry estimates.
Moreover, industry experts also say that unlike with Apple, RCom would be able to negotiate better deals (higher margins) with other smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung and Nokia.
“RCom did not have any bargaining power with Apple.
“But with other handset makers, it might be able to negotiate a price discount on handsets.
“The end user’s instalment would still result in a net expenditure that is less than a handset’s retail price,” says Mahantesh Marilinga, senior research analyst at Finquest. This time around, it is a bank which gets the EMIs from the user, having paid the operator upfront.
The plan would ensure a steady stream of revenue from users for two years; even if the user moves out of the plan,
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