According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar IMRB, the next wave of growth in mobile internet users was expected to come from rural areas, where mobile data penetration is as low as 18 per cent. One pertinent question that arises is - In one of the fastest growing smartphone markets, what are the key factors that are holding back rural India from getting online?

As a brand, the question that we often asked ourselves is “How can we, as a mobile brand, help rural India get online? India as a region has multiple markets within itself where consumptions habits vary drastically across urban and rural demographics. At itel, we truly believe in democratizing technology for masses by offering great value in each product we launch. Keeping in mind the smartphone requirements of rural users, we launched itel with the key objective of driving rural and semi-urban Indian consumers onto a digital platform and to provide accessible yet feature-driven mobile phones for the aspiring Indian consumers across geographies and social classes. Additionally, we also came up with a differential marketing strategy that varied from region to region, depending on consumer requirements and sensibilities with the right balance of conventional and unconventional marketing initiatives to ensure brand connect and awareness.

Today, for an average consumer, a mobile phone is much more than a medium of communication - it doubles up as a television, camera, music player and as a compact entertainment system. Keeping the above in mind, it was quintessential for us to develop products which provide them with everything, yet at the same time do not burn a hole in the pocket. The itel mobile phone portfolio was created to deliver a full mobility experience to the Indian customers by providing them access to premium quality products, which are localized and designed to meet their specific requirements at a budget friendly price. These includes 4G compatibility, full-screen display with ultra-thin bezel design, superior processing capabilities plus powerful dual rear camera with bokeh effect, lowlight photography & portrait images and enhanced security measures through multi-functional fingerprint sensors and face unlock technology. Taking forward its commitment to provide value plus mobile-based connectivity solutions to the country’s consumer base in even tier III and IV towns, itel rolled out localized and unique features like King Voice, a text to speech application for smart keypad devices.