ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT JIO GIGAFIBER

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries revealed many details about most awaited wired broadband plan of Jio dubbed as " Jio Gigafiber" recently. He was speaking on the occasion of 42nd Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited on the 12th of August 2019. We have collated all the major points starting from launch, service details, installation and pricing of Jio Gigafiber service in this article.

Reliance Jio, the country’s second largest Telco by customers, is scheduled to launch the most awaited commercial home broadband plans under Jio Giga Fiber from September 5 of 2019 on the eve of third anniversary of launching Reliance Jio.

The most basic plan starts from Rs 700 per month which offers a minimum speed of 100 Mbps. The plans will begin from a minimum of Rs 700 a month, going to Rs 10,000 a month for premium customers, offering a variety of services including minimum speeds of 100 Mbps, free LED TV on each connection and free calls from landlines. Jio is also planning to introduce very cheaper international call rates from the landline connections at fixed monthly rental of Rs 500 to the United States and Canada. “In India even the most basic Jio Giga Fiber will start at 100 mbps at the lowest end. We have plans to go all the way to 1 Gbps. We are pricing our plan at one-tenth of global rate to make it accessible for every home,” Ambani said.

The Premium customers of Jio Gigafiber Service will also be able to watch movies on the same day of the release. This service is expected to be made available by mid of 2020.

Jio Fiber Welcome Offer:

Jio has also announced a Jio Welcome Offer, under which all those who buy its annual plans will get an HD or 4K LED TV and a 4K set-top box for free. Landline connection will also be for free. Jio has also kept installation charges free during the initial rollout period.

How to apply for Jio Fiber:

The registration process is available on the official website of Reliance Jio. If you are interested in this service, you can apply for a Jio Fiber connection at its website here in a simple three-step process. In the first page, mention the address where you want to get a JioFiber connection. Provide details like your name, mobile number and Email id. Submit an OTP sent to your phone. The registration process, which is more like an expression of interest, is now complete. You will get a message stating that once the feasibility is confirmed you will receive a call from Jio's sales representative for further process. When your request is materialized, you will need to submit any of the two documents to get the connection: Aadhaar card or any other original valid proof of identification and proof of address like voter id card, PAN card, passport, driving license, etc.

Jio Fiber Installation Procedure:

Once the JioFiber service is available in your area, an installation engineer will soon visit your house to install the broadband system. Reliance Jio has announced on its website that during the initial rollout phase, installation charges will be free. "As part of our initial roll out we are offering complimentary JioFiber installation and connection to all our customers. Other than the refundable security deposit, as of now there are no additional installation charges," Jio said. Along with the Jio Fiber connection, you will also get a free landline for making voice calls.

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JIO TO INTEGRATE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

Along with the JioFiber launch, Mukesh Ambani has unveiled one more future projects of Reliance Jio during the 42nd AGM on 12th August 2019. Reliance Jio in association with Pan-India Edge computing and content distribution network is preparing to install one of the largest block chain networks in the world.

This new venture is part of the telecom arm’s plans to invest in locally up scaling advanced software technologies across India ahead of the rest of the world. The goal of Reliance Jio is to use the technology to deliver solid security, trust, automation and efficiency to almost any type of transaction. This requirement is in dire need in the sectors such as supply chains for agricultural produce and other goods which form the backbone of India's economy.

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Ambani on Monday said that Reliance Jio is a software company, and has been developing technologies like Block chain, Edge computing, and Virtual and Mixed Reality content. "Jio has over 6000 software engineers and we are continuing to attract technology talent from across India and the world," Ambani said.

He also spoke about the investments underway for the new startups which are being supported by Reliance. Ambani said that Reliance Jio has been investing in enhancing ecosystem of new technology startups. These startups have added value to various services offered by Reliance Jio. He detailed that RIL and Jio have already invested in 14 startups which have developed unique capabilities in their respective fields with a total of more than 1500 talented engineers. "This is another way we are building talent. And on the back of this talent we are now investing in scaling-up advanced technologies in our country even ahead of the rest of the world," Ambani said.

Over the next 12 months, Jio will install across India one of the largest blockchain networks in the world with tens of thousands of nodes operational on day one. Ambani said that Block chain technology offers an opportunity to invent a brand-new model for data privacy where Indian data especially customer data is owned and controlled through technology by the Indian people and not by corporates, especially global corporations. "Data is wealth and Indian wealth must remain in India." Jio is also deploying a cloud infrastructure across India. "To leapfrog the world, it is a national imperative to develop a nation-wide cloud computing infrastructure that is both cutting-edge and affordable," he said.

Can Jio Lead 5G Market War?

After the 4G mania is settling down, operators worldwide are preparing themselves to the next generation networking capabilities which is also known as 5G ( 5th Generation ) Network. With the entry of Reliance Jio in 2016, there is a crushing and aggressive competition in the market of Data and Mobile Networks. Hence, it is no surprise that all the major operators are spending substantial amount of money, time and efforts to improve their stance and status by preparing themselves for upcoming 5G network domination in India.

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But the question is how prepared are the telcos to take a lead? Few reports are coming in which indicates Reliance Jio might be current leader in this race. SBI Cap securities has released a statement indicating Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to launch 5G services by the second half of 2020, accelerating its rollout to stop rivals Vodafone Idea (VIL) and Bharti Airtel. The brokerage said Jio’s move to fast-track 5G plans is likely driven by mega fundraising plans lately announced by VIL and Bharti Airtel to enhance 4G capacities.

Rajiv Sharma, co-head of research at SBICap Securities, said he expects the government to auction 5G spectrum by January 2020. Jio is the only telecom operator which has backed an early sale of 5G airwaves. Both Bharti Airtel and VIL have opposed an early auction. Sharma said he expects Jio to make “a decisive 5G upgrade next year to make competition from Airtel and VIL on the 4G front irrelevant, in its bid to maintain leadership in fast broadband technology, thought and revenue market share fronts.

Bharti Airtel and VIL are expected to raise as much as Rs 50,000 crore from their planned rights distribution and tower asset sales. This move could narrow the gap with Jio in 4G services in all key urban markets. “Jio’s early move to 5G is inevitable to sustain market share gains, and we see it selectively deploying nextgen wireless broadband technology by the second half of 2020,” said Sharma.

If most funds raised by VIL and Airtel are deployed in expanding 4G capacity, they could together claim 425 million subscribers, sufficient to upgrade all existing 2G users to 4G, which would make it tough for Jio to gain more market share, post 9-12 months.