Jio aiming to onboard 100 million users through JioPhone Next, but price not disruptive: ICICI

Reliance Jio is aiming at onboarding 100 million users with the help of its latest 4G smartphonne, JioPhone Next, which was developed in partnership with Google, ICICI Securities said in a note on Monday.

“We expect the company to heavily focus on converting JioPhone customers (whose three years are approaching expiry) to JioPhone Next,” the brokerage said.

Jio last Friday launched the much-awaited JioPhone Next that can be bought from November 4, 2021, onwards with an upfront payment of Rs 6,499. Users can also pay Rs 1,999 upfront and the remaining amount via EMIs across 18 or 24 months with service recharges. Monthly payments start from Rs 300 to Rs 600.

“Price of JioPhone Next is not disruptive as mobiles with similar features are available in the market,” ICICI said, adding that the device comes with rich voice-first features such as read-aloud, translate now, and others.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) of the JioPhone Next though will be at a premium to existing smartphones.

“Our calculations suggest underlying base prices for services are at a slight discount to the existing base pack; however, JioPhone Next has a significant restriction on voice minutes. Monthly data use is limited to 5GB and just 100 minutes will cost Rs113-119 per month,” ICICI said, adding that smartphone recharge costs Rs 129 (or Rs 138, adjusted for 30 days) along with unlimited voice calling and 2GB of data.

“The most popular plan (1.5GB data per day) will cost Rs263-Rs269 per month, which is 23-26% higher than the existing price of Rs199 (Rs213, adjusted for 30 days),” ICICI said.

“Pricing of the underlying services is also comparable, or at a premium to existing tariffs, which supports our argument for an early tariff hike… Further, tariff hike in existing packs will make JioPhone Next services look more affordable in coming month(s). RJio has priced the new product such that it will help industry repair,” it added.

The brokerage firm expects service prices for JioPhone Next to become attractive with tariff hikes and an anticipated increase in tariff in the smartphone category may come soon.

“In that case, JioPhone Next prices will look affordable and this will enable RJio to attract more users. This is an early implication of JioPhone Next on tariff hike, in our view,” ICICI said.

Jio reported an ARPU of Rs 143.6 for Q2 2021, up from Rs 138.4 quarter-on-quarter.