Nokia may soon enter 4G feature phone market in India
The move follows the extraordinary success of Reliance's JioPhone, which has pushed other handset makers and telecom operators to work on lower-cost 4G LTE devices.
Drawing from the success of the revolutionary JioPhone (owned by Reliance Industries), handset maker Nokia may soon foray into the 4G feature phone market, various media reports quoted Ajay Mehta, India VP for HMD Global as saying.
HMD Global is the company that develops and markets feature phones and smartphones under the Nokia brand name. The company has been operational since December 2016, after it bought Microsoft Mobile's feature phone business.
The move follows the extraordinary success of Reliance's JioPhone, which has pushed other handset makers and telecom operators to work on lower-cost 4G LTE devices. At the moment, Lava, Intex, Idea and Airtel are all working on developing such devices.
HMD Global is in talks with multiple telecom operators to collaborate for its plan. Although it has a number of feature phones in the Indian market already, none of the existing Nokia feature phones can function on 4G LTE only networks.
"Feature phone is a critical category... and we see operators as a partner here. There is sizeable volume in this segment, roughly 10 million devices monthly. Nokia has traditionally been strong here, and there is huge opportunity," Mehta told Times of India.
The company recently launched the Nokia 8 smartphone in India, priced at Rs 36,999. The phone has received rave reviews for its physical durability.
(Disclosure : Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.)
