Reliance Jio's latest gambit will cause another round of disruption

Price wars, capex to hit earnings growth of top telecom players

Reliance Jio’s latest gambit will cause another round of disruption in the telecom industry. To recap, Jio will offer free 4G feature phones with locked SIMs. It will take a deposit of Rs 1,500 per phone, to be refunded after three years. The tariff will be Rs 153 per month, or Rs 54 per week, for all-you-can-eat plans in voice and data. The handset will be pre-loaded with multiple entertainment apps and also be capable of net-surfing. About 650 million Indians use feature phones, mostly for voice calls, on 2G or 2.5G networks. Most feature phone users have a monthly