A 3-year lock in? The many challenges for Jio's 4G feature phone

Jio has 9-12 months of head-start before equivalent offerings from incumbents

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Jio Infocomm recently announced 4G-enabled feature phone, JioPhone, which you can purchase by paying a security deposit of Rs 1,500, refundable after three years. The bundled Jio connection will come with three different usage plans ranging from Rs 24 for two days, Rs 54 for a week and Rs 153 for a month.

However, according to a report by JP Morgan, there are several challenges related to the feasibility of the device, and there also are concerns over the product being attractively priced to induce habit-changing consumption.

According to JP Morgan, in India, where there is the prevalence