Hike Messaging platform made it to the headlines recently after they introduced a new set of features that would let users access the news and make digital payments without the need for an internet connection. Called the “Hike Total”, the feature is based on USSD, a quintessential part of every GSM phone. This time around, Hike has announced a partnership with Airtel under the ambit of “Mera Pehla Smartphone” initiative.

As part of this initiative, select smartphones will come with preinstalled Hike Total. Users will be able to access basic services like Messaging, News, Recharge and more without relying on an active internet connection. Hike claims that users can get access to data packs priced as low as Rs 1.

With ‘Total’ on ‘Mera Pehla Smartphones’, first-time users will find it easy understand and navigate a smartphone. Using data is also simplified and ‘Total’ users can get online with special data packs starting as low as Re 1/-. This is really powerful. We are very clear that to get a billion people online, we need to make the whole process of coming online a lot simpler,  less intimidating as well as cost-effective and this partnership with Airtel is likely to do that.-Kavin Bharti Mittal- CEO of Hike

Airtel has already partnered with smartphone manufacturers like Karbonn and Celkon for its range of affordable entry-level 4G smartphones. Meanwhile, the Hike total is an ongoing effort to bring the next billion people online. Hike has also been working towards simplifying the entire process of connecting to the internet via a smartphone. As per a recently published report, by 2020 more than 700 million people will be using the smartphones for the first time and tools like will hopefully make the onboarding process much easier and effortless. It’s also important to note that Kevin Bharti Mittal, the CEO of Hike is the son of Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Enterprises which owns Airtel and jointly owns Hike Messenger.