tele com relience jio

Tatas explore sale of telecom assets to Reliance Jio

MUMBAI: India's largest conglomerate Tata Group has explored selling its struggling telecom and related assets to the country's most valued companyReliance Industries Ltd (RIL) even as Bharti Airtel remains a strong contender to acquire them.

While talks with RIL chairmanMukesh Ambani's disruptive telecom venture Reliance Jiomay not progress, it assumes significance for being the first such deal talk between the country's two corporate goliaths emerging from the cold war of the past.

When contacted, RIL and Tata Group declined to comment on speculation.

Reliance JioPhone: 9 biggest doubts clarified

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Reliance JioPhone: 9 biggest doubts clarified

What processor will Reliance JioPhone run on? How many variants it will come in? Will it support hotspot and Wi-Fi? Is there an eligibility criterion for the Rs 1500 security deposit refund? Is the JioTV cable free? Does the phone support WhatsApp? Do you too have these and other nagging doubts/confusion about the Reliance JioPhone? If yes, read on we have you covered. Here are 9 things that you should definitely know about Reliance JioPhone ....

WhatsApp unlikely to run on JioPhone

The popular messenger app WhatsApp is unlikely to run on JioPhones, at least initially. Many reports have suggest that the phone will not support the world's most popular meassaging app. Reliance Jio has its own chat platform JioChat, may be the company wants to promote that. The phone, however, comes with other popular apps like YouTube and Facebook.

JioPhone to come in at least two variants (based on processor)

At the unveiling of the JioPhone, the company's chairman Mukesh Ambani didn't reveal much about the phone's specifications. So there were speculations about the processor that the phone will run on. While some reports had claimed that the phone will run on Qualcomm's processor others had said that it will be powered by China-based Spreadtrum Communications' processor. However, over the week both the companies have tweeted about their association with the JioPhone, signaling that there will be at least two variants of the device. One powered by Qualcomm, the other by Spreadtrum. "Glad to partner with @reliancejio on the new #JioPhone, powered by our #205 mobile platform," Qualcomm India tweeted. "Making India digital with #JioPhone. @Spreadtrum is proud to be a part of the digital freedom for #featurephone users. @Reliancejio," goes the tweet from Spreadtrum.

Eligibility for refund: Need to regularly recharge your phone

Users will be able to pre-book the Reliance JioPhone on paying a refundable security deposit of Rs 1500. They can get refund for this security deposit after minimum three years. However, to be eligible for a refund they will need to recharge their JioPhones at least once in 90 days.

Full security deposit to be made during pre-booking itself

Prospective buyers of Reliance JioPhone will have to pay the security deposit of Rs 1500 upfront. This mean the payment will have to be made during pre-booking itself.

Jio TV cable may not be free

One of the hottest features of the JioPhone is that the users will be able to mirror the content on their phones on a TV. The company announced a JioPhone TV cable for the same. Though the company didn't specify if this cable will come bundled with JioPhone or users will have to pay extra for it but reports have suggested that the users may have to pay between Rs 500 -1500 for it. Also, users of the TV cable will have to take the Rs 309 data plan per month.

FUP limit of 500MB/day is enough for the JioPhone

Another nagging doubt that many users have is if the FUP limit of 500MB per day is enough. Yes it is, considering that the screen-size of JioPhone is small with a very low-resolution so the internet data consumption too is less.

No hotspot support

Reliance Jio's phone's software does not come with support for hotspot, a company executive confirmed the same to GadgetsNow. Though the company executive didn't specifically say if this is due to lack of hardware support or has been locked on software front.

​ Supports Wi-Fi

Another big question that many have about the phone is Wi-Fi support. The same will be there, GadgetsNow confirmed this too from the company sources.

Users can book the phone on their MyJio app

Interested users can book the new JioPhone via the company's MyJio app. They can also visit a Jio retailer to book the handset (both August 24th onwards).

The two groups haven't had much business ties in the past and even restricted recruiting employees from each other. The last decade's telecom battles saw Tatas and Ambanis pitched on opposite sides.

This started changing with Tata Trusts and Reliance Foundation collaborating in areas such as high-speed connectivity and cancer care. More recently, Tata bagged the Jamshedpur franchise of Indian Super League — a men's professional football league co-managed by RIL.

When contacted, RIL and Tata Group declined to comment on speculation.

"It's credible to say both Jio and Tata Tele have explored options, but risky to believe it would make progress," said a person familiar with the matter. The Indian telecom industry is gripped by consolidation moves — three deals have been announced in the first half of the current calendar — as the Jio onslaught has hit the bottomlines of competitors hard.

New Tata chairman N Chandrasekaran is working on a time-bound plan to sort out the telecom mess, and has asked his deal-makers to explore all options. In June this year, TOI quoted UK research firm CCS Insight to first report that M&A experts were betting on Bharti Airtel acquiring Tata Tele.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti would be interested in a bundled acquisition of Tata Tele and related assets, especially DTH unit Tata Sky and the world's largest submarine network through Tata Communications.