BSNL and Micromax have come together to take on the Reliance Jio Phone with Bharat 1 mobile. Bharat 1 is a 4G VoLTE enabled feature phone created by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Micromax. The 4G feature phone is priced at Rs 2,200 and it will come to the market on October 20. In India, over 50 crore people still do not have a smartphone or have no internet connectivity. Homegrown telecom operator BSNL plans to tap this market in partnership with Micromax. Jumping on the bandwagon of cheap phones with 4G capabilities, BSNL has taken on Reliance Jio and Airtel in the battle.
BSNL Micromax Bharat 1 4G feature phone sports a 2.4-inch display. The device features a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and comes with 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory. The Bharat 1 phone has dual SIM slots and is fueled by a 2,000mAh battery. In terms of camera, the BSNL mobile has a 2-megapixel rear camera and a VGA camera at the front. The phone has support for 22 different Indian languages. During the launch, the company said that the Bharat 1 is a completely Made in India phone.
In the Bharat 1 device, users will get a pre-loaded Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) mobile app. BSNL said that it will provide a suite of services from its network on the phone. Users will also get the option to watch live TV on the Bharat 1.
With #Bharat1, we aim to provide a 4G phone to India’s 500 million plus population that is still internet unconnected. #DeshKa4GPhone
— Micromax India (@Micromax_Mobile) October 17, 2017
In terms of data plans, the phone aims the feature phone market in India. Hence BSNL’s tariff plans for the device is very aggressive. BSNL said that users will get unlimited voice calling and internet services at just Rs 97 per month.
The Bharat 1 has dual SIM slots, hence you can use any network other than BSNL too. Users will not be restricted to BSNL’s network in the Bharat 1 mobile. This means you can use Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, or any other smartphone. This gives the Bharat 1 a big edge over the Jio Phone.
