Handset makers are set to flood the Indian market with their 4G devices starting from Rs10,000 and touching up to Rs50,000. So far, only Bharti Airtel offers 4G LTE network and that too in select cities. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm which is making its foray in the telecom industry with 4G is expected to launch its services by the end of 2014.
"We have an ongoing 4G portfolio in China. Thus, we are completely equipped for a launch in India too," Gionee India head Arvind R Vohra told."Once the volume starts picking up, there will not be much difference between the pricing of 3G and 4G devices... it will be minimalistic." Gionee is a fresh entrant into the handset market in India.
Domestic handset manufacturer Micromax is not only talking about handsets and tablets, but also about installing equipment where the customer resides. These equipment may consist of an antenna placed on the roof of a customer's house. It will enable the customer to function all his 4G devices with one connectivity - whether it's a smart TV, tablet or handset – just like Wi-Fi. However, Vikas Jain, co-founder, Micromax, told dna that the company is waiting for more stable and widespread connectivity before launching their devices.
The bandwidths which facilitate 4G services are also a matter of concern. "Initially, we were preparing our devices on the 2300 MHz band. Now with the latest spectrum auction, we have to work around the 1800 MHz band for 4G. So there is a little speculation and uncertainty in terms of the network bands available for 4G," Jain said. He added that Micromax would launch 4G devices on which customers can fall back on 2G and 3G networks in areas where there are gaps.
Jain said the company may sell a phone bundled with an operator's data service. However, the customer will have the option of choosing another operator too. Micromax plans to launch phones in the range of Rs10,000-Rs15,000.
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