Intex bags 4G LTE handsets order from Reliance Jio

Intex Technologies has bagged an order from Reliance Jio Infocomm to supply 100,000 4G-enabled handsets.

The handset vendor will be sending its first shipment of 20,000 handsets by next month to Reliance Jio - which plans to roll out its 4G telecom services by the end of this year.

While, the telecom service provider has been in talks with several handset manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung and Micromax, Delhi-headquartered Intex is the first company to win an order.

To meet the laid-out norms by Reliance, Intex has developed a 4G-enebled handset with voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE) technology. While, VoLTE technology is not usually incorporated in most of the 4G handsets, the feature is essential for mobile phones to work on Reliance Jio network. "Without VoLTE voice calling will not be possible under Jio's network", an industry executive said.

Without revealing the size of the deal, an Intex spokesperson said, "The handsets for Reliance Jio are at the sub-Rs.10,000 range. However, its up to Reliance Jio to decide the selling price." While, Reliance Jio is assigned for distribution, the handsets will be branded under Intex.

Intex is the third largest smartphone company in the country with some 11 percent market share - behind Samsung (23 percent) and Micromax (17 percent), according to IDC reports for April-June, 2015 quarter.