Airtel, Celkon to offer 4G mobile at 1,349

Hyderabad: Rattled by Reliance Jio’s 4G-enabled, Rs 1,500 feature phone that generated unprecedented demand, telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Monday announced a partnership with city-based Celkon Mobiles to offer a 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 1,349.

There is a catch here as it’s a bundle offer. Customers will have to subscriber for Airtel’s monthly pack of Rs 169 or spend Rs 6,000 in recharges over three years to avail Rs 1,500 cashback. This is how it works.

Customers will have to pay Rs 2,849 upfront for Celkon Smart 4G smartphone which, Celkon claims, carries a market price of Rs 3,500. However, they will get a refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and Rs 1,000 after next 18 months if they continuously use the monthly pack which offers unlimited calls and 500 MB data a day or spend Rs 6,000 on recharges.

That way, the effective price of the device will be Rs 1,349 after Rs 1,500 cashback. “Our objective is to make 4G smartphones affordable to all. Currently, over 500 million features are in use in India and we expect people who are using them to migrate to 4G smartphone.

This offer will be of immense use for them,” Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan, Chief Executive Officer- AP, Telangana, Bharti Airtel, told the media here. This partnership is part of Airtel's ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone' initiative, he added.

Celkon Smart 4G is equipped with a four-inch touchscreen, dual SIM slots and FM radio. It comes pre-loaded with Airtel TV and Wynk Music. “Smart 4G is being offered at a great price point when compared to prevailing feature phones, enabling users to enjoy 4G data and functionality,” Y Guru, CMD, Celkon.

The handset maker has set a target to sell 5 lakh units through this tie-up. Celkon plans to set up R&D unit in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 75 crore, he added.