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Reliance Industries held its 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on 12 August, Monday, where Mukesh Ambani announced the commercial launch date of its broadband service in the country.
We’re talking about the Jio Fiber, which has been available to select users for quite some time now.
Jio has been pilot-testing its wired broadband service in different pockets of the country. This service from Jio works on optical fibre technology, which promises high-speed internet with download speeds up to 1Gbps.
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Phew. After all the announcements made by the company, specifically regarding its broadband service, the AGM 2019 keynote from Mukesh Ambani has come to an end.
Stay tuned for our live, with all the key announcements from the event.
Jio is not only focused on consumers, it is eyeing budding startups in the country as well. For this, Jio’s partnership with Microsoft comes to the fore.
The company is providing its connectivity network bundled with its services, as well as Microsoft’s suite of applications starting at Rs 1,500 per month. This is an unbelievable offering for companies that are building their way through different growth phases.
Those Reliance Jio Fiber users opting for the annual plans will not only get bundled streaming services. In addition to that, the company will provide them with a free HD or 4K television, along with the compatible set top box as well.
The broadband service isn’t the biggest news of the day. The telco has released a slew of international calling plans, expected to be cheaper than its competition. Jio Fiber users will also get subscriptions to popular streaming apps bundled to their service.
Jio Fiber, especially the premium users will able to stream latest movies on the day of its release in move theaters. This feature will be available from 2020 onwards. For mobile users, the telco is bringing a new postpaid offering called Jio Postpaid Plus.
Reliance Jio will commercially launch its Jio Fiber broadband service from 5 September onwards. This date coincides with company’s third anniversary since its launch in 2016.
And the telecom player has also confirmed that the pricing of its broadband plans will range between Rs 700 and going up to Rs 10,000 for one month.
The company is going to make multi-player gaming a common trend in Indian household with its broadband service. The company’s Director, Akash Ambani demos FIFA playing through its internet service, which is claimed to offer zero-latency speeds.
The company also demoed its Holoboard headset, which is expected to offer an immersive experience to the Jio Fiber users. Here’s a closer look at how the headset was made by a Gurugram-based startup called Tesseract:
The company has been claiming gigabit internet speeds on its broadband network, and now they believe consumers can sit back and enjoy all the benefits on the internet without worrying about any latency issues.
That’s not all, the company’s broadband service will be complimented by its own TV streaming service. This will be made available via local cable operators (LCO) which will be streaming through a 4K set top box provided by Jio.
The company is now ready to enter the broadband space with its high-speed internet service, providing a fixed line handset and cater to TV streaming services as well.
Over the next few years, Jio wants to strengthen its revenue base by offering services in these domains; home broadband, Internet of Things (IoT) and enterprise broadband among others.
Reliance Chairman believes that Indian consumers are spending 3 to 5 percent of the country’s total economy, on digital services. And this is where Jio will make its presence felt with a slew of its services.
With over 340 million users on its network, now the telco is aiming to reach its next target of getting 500 million users consuming data and calling benefits in the next 18 months.
That’s not all, Reliance Jio, according to Ambani, has become the second-largest telecom player in the world.
Reliance will be setting up more fuel stations across the country, in partnership with British Petroleum (BP) in the foreseeable future. In addition to this, Reliance will use its association with BP to explore natural gas across the country.
The Reliance-owned telecom operator has become India’s leading player, with 340 million users on its network. This feat has been achieved in less than four years of commercial operation, surpassing Vodafone Idea Limited and Airtel.
After changing the dynamics of the mobile sector in India, with its affordable data plans, Jio is expected to repeat its formula in the broadband segment also. Reports suggest, Jio Fiber plans will start from Rs 600, but for the first three months, just like its mobile data, consumers won’t have to pay a penny to its wired service.
We’ll know more about that and a lot more in few minutes from now.