Apple partners with Jio for iPhone in India

Citing Reliance Jio's roll-out of 4G coverage in India, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said his company “couldn’t be more excited” about the enormous investments being made in high-speed telecom networks, even as he conceded that Apple smartphone has “not done as well” in the country.

“Looking ahead, we're seeing some very exciting developments in India. Reliance Jio is rolling out a first of its kind all-IP network in India with 4G coverage in 18,000 cities and 200,000 villages across the country,” Cook said in the company's fourth quarter earnings call yesterday.

Cook said Apple is partnering with Reliance Jio, which is offering a free year of service to purchasers of new iPhones, to ensure "great iPhone performance" on their network. “Our iPhone sales in India were up over 50 per cent in fiscal 2016 compared to the prior year, and we believe we're just beginning to scratch the surface of this large and growing market opportunity,” Cook said.

He, however, noted that Apple's smartphone has "not done as well" in India in general and one of the key reasons for that is the “(high-speed telecom networks) infrastructure hasn't been there”.

“But this year or this year and next year, there are enormous investments going in on 4G and we couldn't be more excited about that because it really takes a great network working with iPhone to produce that great experience for people,” Cook said. “And so I see a lot of the factors moving in the right direction there,” Mr Cook said.