Freedom 251 phone maker looking to launch Bells SIM card: Report

After a much talked about launch of the world’s cheapest smartphone at Rs 251 (less than $4) that led to its website crashing down, phone maker Ringing Bells continues to forge plans for the near future. According to this report, Ringing Bells will launch a SIM card dubbed ‘Bells’. This launch, however, will take at least two years to materialise, director Mohit Goel has said. No other information has been revealed yet. As an unknown company that has been hitting the headlines over the last couple of days, Ringing Bells has certainly piqued the country’s interest. Their website crashed with the surge of netizens logging on to place their orders. From specs offered at an unbelievably low price point and iPhone-like icons to being a re-branded Adcom Ikon 4 smartphone and Make in India project, a lot has already been said and written about the Freeedom 251. But what still seems baffling is how they will achieve the price point so low for a device that is well speced to be priced a little over a couple of thousands. And not just the consumers, the government and regulatory bodies are also looking into this phenomenon. The Telecom Ministry is believed to have sought clarification from Ringing Bells for marketing its ‘Freedom251’ mobile phone without BIS certification and have asked UP government to check its credentials, as per BJP MP Kirit Somaiya. Kirit Somaiya has said that there is a huge scam involved in ‘Freedom 251’. After going through all papers of the company, he found out that the ‘Freedom 251’ doesn’t even have a licence. The BJP MP has approached telecom ministry, telecom regulator Trai, Consumer Ministry, SEBI, Corporate Ministry Finance Ministry, RBI and state governments to check various concerns that he has on company offering mobile phone for Rs 251. Ringing Bells’ President Ashok Chaddha said manufacturing cost of the phone is about Rs 2,500, which will be recovered through a series of measures like economies of scale, innovative marketing, reduction in duties and creating an e-commerce marketplace. Somaiya as well as industry has not found the proposition convincing.”From the response I read of Shri Ashok Chadha of Ringing Bells that how much cost will be saved due to import/local assembling/ online marketing… far from convincing,” Somaiya said in a letter attached to his tweet. Mobile phone industry body ICA too has raised red flag on offering of the company. “We have checked with all operators in the industry and no one has admitted to have been in any kind of bundling deal or partnership with them. I will only say consumer should stay cautious. More than consumers, it may hurt businessmen in small towns if the promise made by the company fails,” ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said.