[rdsubhas]

I have to also add, that the same parent company (Reliance) was also responsible for the mobile phone explosion[1][2] in India in 2002-03, at the very same price point. I can still remember the long queues in my hometown (pretty distant 2nd tier city) to get a hand on the Rs. 500 phone on the days before. They essentially put a mobile phone on every Indian's hands, and forced entire market prices to come down. Before that, the average handheld mobile was way out of economic reach for most Indians.

Reliance has gone through a lot of restructuring, family issues and some shady flak, but they have been the major drivers of both mobile and internet revolution in India. Interestingly, both at the same price point then (2003) and now: INR500 (USD7 at today's rates).

1: http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/20030721/business...

2: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/economy/story/20040105-in...