Reliance Jio is working with featurephone makers including Transsion’s Itel, Lava, and Nokia to make their versions of affordable Jio Bharat 4G devices, in a bid to push around 250 million 2G users to go 4G and beyond, a top company executive said.

The telco is also set to announce an enhanced version of its Rs 999-priced 4G phone with support for UPI payments, WhatsApp, and live TV streaming, Economic Times reported.

Dutt, an industry veteran who led the likes of HP and Blackberry, said a typical 2G user isn’t comfortable using a smartphone, finding it expensive and prone to malfunctions. Affordability, he said, is the biggest factor and Jio’s new push into the featurephone market is done in a manner to lower the cost of ownership.

The Jio Bharat phones come with special 4G monthly plans which Dutt said are priced much lower than the competition.

“This is the most exploited customer and surprisingly our competitors have no sense of regret in exploiting them too. Our next-door neighbors charge Rs 180 to this customer and give them 2GB data, which, on a 2G network, a customer cannot even consume efficiently,” Dutt said.