Realme in talks with telcos for exploring bundled offers post 5G launch in India: CEO Madhav Sheth | Interview

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to ready to officially inaugurate the first 5G mobile services in the country on Saturday (October 1) at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 in New Delhi, Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme India, in an exclusive conversation with Zee Business said that 5G is an exciting development for the tech and smartphone industry and "we definitely expect it to become popular among users as it provides many benefits."

He also said that Realme is quite excited about 5G being available to users and they are doing everything possible to equip maximum users with this advanced technology.

When asked if we will see a drop in the prices of 5g smartphones post rollout, Sheth said: "Given that there will be a higher uptake of these devices, brands will provide more and more options to meet the demand and requirements which should eventually have an effect on the prices of the smartphones, bringing the prices down."

Just like 3G and 4G, telecom companies will soon announce dedicated 5G tariff plans after the inauguration on October 1 in India.

Sheth, who is also the Vice President at Realme and President of Realme International Business Group, said that Realme is  working with telcos closely for testing 5G services, along with exploring bundling offers for consumers.

Meanwhile, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that installations of 5G towers are underway and telecom operators are busy ensuring the seamless rollout of services. The 5G services would be rolled out in a phased manner. In the first phase, 13 cities -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune -- are likely to get the 5G mobile services.

Ahead of the 5G roll out experts are also expecting smartphone brands in India to launch more affordable 5G phones and cut the 4G smartphones prices. 

Amit Sharma, analyst - Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research, told Zee Business: "We anticipate 4G smartphone prices to drop across the board. There has been a huge inventory pile-up in the channels." 

"With 5G roll-out in the offing, OEMs will be focusing on clearing out their old stocks, primarily the phones with 4G technology by offering good discounts, promotional schemes, exchange offers, in the festive season period, and beyond," Sharma added.

According to Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, 4G smartphone makers will be further pushed to cut their prices, especially sub 10K first and then sub 6K in the next 1-2 years. 

"Brand will also try to get rid of 4G inventory above 15K by reducing prices. However, launching a great 5G phone in sub $200 still requires some trade off. And hence 4G phones will have that sub $200 segment to play in for sometime but next year they will be pushed to lower price points faster," he said.