Reliance Jio Gets VoLTE International Roaming, But There’s a Catch

Reliance Jio is the first telco to offer VoLTE service on international roaming.

Reliance Jio now offers international VoLTE roaming between India and Japan only. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Reliance Jio users can finally use its VoLTE-centric internet service while travelling on international roaming.

The telco on Tuesday officially confirmed this to the media, becoming the first-ever Indian telecom player to offer VoLTE to users coming to India and going abroad.

But there’s a catch in this announcement. It won’t work in many countries. In fact, it will work in just two as of now – India & Japan.

As it turns out, the Jio VoLTE international roaming will work only for people who’re either coming from Japan with KDDI network, or for Jio users going to the land of the rising sun. Which means, the VoLTE service won’t work if you’re going to the United States or any part of Europe or elsewhere.

Japan-based KDDI Corporation is the first international mobile service provider to avail of Jio’s VoLTE calling and LTE data international roaming service, which provides international travelers with access to high-speed data and voice services on Jio’s all-IP, 4G-exclusive network.

Reliance Jio

Now, it is interesting to see Jio offering its VoLTE service to people from Japan coming to the country and vice versa. But we’re not sure how many Jio users will be able to take advantage of this service.

According to Kenichi Takano, executive director, Japan National Travel Organisation (JNTO), quoted in this report, the number of Indians travelling to Japan as of mid-2018 stands at 1.2 lakh. 

Looking at the current scenario, not sure how either KDDI or Jio users benefit from this arrangement. It’s a start nevertheless. Having said that, Jio users would love for the telco to make its international roaming plans become easily accessible.

Jio claims that “the arrangement would help international travelers to experience Jio's all-IP network”. Then again, how many are actually going to be gung-ho about the internet speeds in India, which pales in front of what they actually get in their own country.

The telco hasn’t mentioned about prices, so we’re assuming, the network connection will automatically happen for Jio and KDDI users, once they reach India or Japan.