Jio

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
Subsidiary of RIL
Industry Wireless Telecommunications
Founded 2007 (2007)
Headquarters Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Key people
 Sanjay Mashruwalla (Managing Director)
Jyotindra Thacker (Head of IT)
Akash Ambani (Chief of Strategy) [1]
Products
Revenue
Owner Mukesh Ambani
Parent Reliance Industries
Subsidiaries LYF
Website www.jio.com

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is a LTE mobile network operator in India. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries headquartered in Mumbai, that provides wireless 4G LTE service network (without 2G/3G based services) and is the only 100% VoLTE (Voice over LTE) operator in the country, with coverage across all 22 telecom circles in India.[3][4]

The services were first beta-launched to Jio's partners and employees on 27 December 2015 on the eve of 83rd birth anniversary of late Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Industries,[5][6] and later services were commercially launched on 5 September 2016.

Products and Services

The official slogan of Jio

4G Broadband

The company will launch its 4G broadband services throughout India in the first quarter of 2016-2017 financial year.[7] It was slated to release in December 2015 after some reports said that the company was waiting to receive final permits from the government.[8] Mukesh Ambani, owner of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) whose Reliance Jio is the telecom subsidiary, had unveiled details of Jio's fourth-generation (4G) services on 12 June 2015 at RIL's 41st annual general meeting. It will offer data and voice services with peripheral services like instant messaging, live TV, movies on demand, news, streaming music, and a digital payments platform.[9]

The company has a network of more than 250,000 km of fiber optic cables in the country, over which it will be partnering with local cable operators to get broader connectivity for its broadband services.[10] With its multi-service operator (MSO) licence, Jio will also serve as a TV channel distributor and will offer television-on-demand on its network.

LYF Smartphones

Main article: LYF
An image of LYF WATER 2 phone with IPS display.[11]

In June 2015, Jio tied up with domestic handset maker Intex to supply 4G handsets enabled with voice over LTE (VoLTE) feature. Through this, it plans to offer 4G voice calling besides rolling out high-speed Internet services using a fiber network,[12] in addition to the 4G wireless network.[13] However, in October 2015, Jio announced that it would be launching its own mobile handset brand named LYF.[14][15][16]

On 25 January 2016, the company launched its LYF smartphone series starting with Water 1, through its chain of electronic retail outlets, Reliance Retail.[17] Three more handset models have been released so far, namely Water 2,[18] Earth 1,[19] and Flame 1.[20][21]

Jionet WiFi

Prior to its pan-India launch of 4G data and telephony services, Jio has started providing free Wi-Fi hotspot services in cities throughout India including Surat, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh,[22] Indore, Jabalpur, Dewas and Ujjain[23] in Madhya Pradesh, select locations of Mumbai in Maharashtra,[24] Kolkata in West Bengal,[25] Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh,[26] Bhubaneswar in Odisha,[27] Mussoorie in Uttarakhand,[28] Collectorate's Office in Meerut,[29] and at MG Road in Vijayawada[30] among others.

In March 2016, Jio started providing free Wi-Fi internet to spectators at six cricket stadiums hosting the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 matches. Jionet was made available in Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium (Mohali), Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium (Dharamshala), Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru), Feroz Shah Kotla (Delhi), and Eden Gardens (Kolkata) in India.[31]

Jio apps

Jio sim card pouch as distributed by Reliance Jio Infocomm

In May 2016, Jio launched a bundle of multimedia apps on Google Play as part of its upcoming 4G services. While the apps are available to download for everyone, a user will require a Jio SIM card to use them. Additionally, most of the apps are in beta phase.[32][33] Following is a list of the apps:[34]

Network

Radio frequency summary

Jio owns spectrum in 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands in 10 and 6 circles, respectively, of the total 22 circles in the country, and also owns pan-India licensed 2,300 MHz spectrum. The spectrum is valid till 2035.[45]

Telecom circle FDD-LTE
1800MHz
Band 3		 FDD-LTE
850MHz
Band 5		 TDD-LTE
2300MHz
Band 40
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
Assam
Bihar & Jharkhand
Delhi
Uttar Pradesh (East)
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Karnataka
Kerala
Kolkata
Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
Maharashtra & Goa
Mumbai
North East
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh (West)

Partnerships

Ahead of its digital services launch, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio entered into a spectrum sharing deal with younger brother Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Communications. The sharing deal is for 800 MHz band across seven circles other than the 10 circles for which Jio already owns.[46]

In September 2016, Jio signed a pact with BSNL for intra-circle roaming which would enable users of the operators to use each other's 4G and 2G spectrum in national roaming mode.[47]

Branding and marketing

Jio logo before September 2016

On December 24, 2015, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was appointed as Jio's brand ambassador.[48][49][50]

History

Jio's headquarters in RCP, Navi Mumbai

In June 2010, Reliance Industries (RIL) bought a 96% stake in Infotel Broadband Services Limited (IBSL) for ₹4,800cr. Although unlisted, IBSL was the only firm to win broadband spectrum in all 22 zones in India in the 4G auction that took place earlier that year.[51] Later continuing as RIL's telecom subsidiary, Infotel Broadband Services Limited was renamed as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) in January 2013.[52]

In June 2015, Jio announced that it will start its operations all over the country by the end of 2015.[53] However, four months later in October 2015, the company's spokesmen sent out a press release stating that the launch was postponed to the first quarter of the financial year 2016-2017.[7]

Later in July, a PIL filed in the Supreme Court by an NGO called the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, through Prashant Bhushan, challenged the grant of pan-India licence to Jio by the Government of India. The PIL also alleged that Jio was allowed to provide voice telephony along with its 4G data service, by paying an additional fees of just ₹165.8 crore (US$25 million) which was arbitrary and unreasonable, and contributed to a loss of ₹2,284.2 crore (US$340 million) to the exchequer.[54][55]

The Indian Department of Telecom (DoT), however, refuted all of CAG's claims. In its statement, DoT explained that the rules for 3G and BWA spectrum didn't restrict BWA winners from providing voice telephony. As a result, the PIL was revoked, and the accusations were dismissed.[56]

Beta launch

The 4G services were launched internally to Jio's partners, its staff and their families on 27 December 2015. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the brand ambassador of Jio, kickstarted the launch event which took place in Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai, along with celebrities like musician A R Rahman, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Javed Jaffrey, and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.[57] The closed event was witnessed by more than 35000 RIL employees some of whom were virtually connected from around 1000 locations including Dallas in the US.[58][59][60]

Commercial launch

The company commercially launched its services on 5 September 2016.[5] Within the first month of commercial operations, Jio announced that it had acquired 16 million subscribers. This is the fastest ramp-up by any mobile network operator anywhere in the world.[61] Reliance Jio crossed 50 million subscriber mark in 83 days while Airtel reached the same milestone of notching 50 million subscribers in 12 years, Vodafone and Idea took 13 years each.[62]

Controversies

Issue with incumbents

In September 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) summoned Jio and the country's existing telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular to meet and discuss an issue regarding interconnection between the operators. This was a result after Jio complained to TRAI and Department of Telecom (DoT) about other operators not honoring their commercial agreements to let Jio use their network resources. The company further added that the operators are trying to sabotage its entry into the telecom scene. However, DoT dismissed the request and directed TRAI to help settle the dispute amicably. Moreover, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) requested TRAI to include all the operators in the discussion instead of the three.[63]

The incumbent operators had previously approached the country's PMO to reiterate their stance they "are in no way obliged or in any position to entertain Jio's requests for interconnection points as they do not have either the network or the financial resources to terminate the latter's humongous volumes of potentially asymmetric voice traffic." Responding to this, Mukesh Ambani, owner of Jio, said, "All operators have publicly said last week that they will provide this (interconnect and MNP). So, we are waiting. These are all great companies. They have their own reputations to protect. I am confident they won't violate the law." Commenting about number portability, he added, "The number belongs to the consumer. No operator can cause trouble if they want to change operators."[64] However, on 12 September 2016, Idea Cellular agreed to allow Jio to use 196 of its interconnection points.[65]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mukesh Ambani's son Akash Ambani joins Reliance Industries; begins at telecom arm Reliance Jio, The Economic Times
  2. ↑ RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM LIMITED - CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2014-2015 (PDF)
  3. ↑ Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Cellular Operators Association of India
  4. ↑ Reliance Jio Infocomm plans to launch pan-India LTE, RCR Wireless News
  5. 1 2 "Jio opens Mobile Number Portability, urges incumbent telcos to fulfil regulatory obligations". India Today. 2016-09-03. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  6. ↑ Reliance Jio Infocomm launches 4G services for employees, The Economic Times, December 27, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  7. 1 2 Reliance Jio likely to delay its December pan-India launch, Live Mint
  8. ↑ Reliance Jio to launch commercial operations by December; to alter telecom industry landscape, say experts, The Economic Times
  9. ↑ Reliance to launch Jio by Dec, set to kick off pricing war, Business Standard
  10. ↑ Reliance Jio looking to partner local cable firms in broadband push, Livemint
  11. ↑ "WATER 2 Smartphone", MyLYF.com, 11 May 2016, retrieved 11 May 2016
  12. ↑ Reliance Jio to roll out broadband service on fibre across 900 cities, The Economic Times
  13. ↑ Intex ties up with Reliance Jio to supply 4G handsets, The Indian Express
  14. ↑ Reliance Retail to sell 4G smartphones under 'LYF' Brand, Economic Times
  15. ↑ Reliance Jio Unveiled A 4G Device Under Lyf Brand, Gizmodo - India, 10 January 2016, retrieved 10 February 2016
  16. ↑ Reliance Jio unveils low-cost 4G mobile phones LYF, The Financial Express, 8 January 2017, retrieved 10 February 2016
  17. ↑ RELIANCE JIO LYF WATER 1 LAUNCHED IN INDIA FOR RS. 14,999, Maktech, 7 February 2016, retrieved 9 February 2016
  18. ↑ Reliance's LYF Water 2 Goes Official in India: specifications, features, price and availability, GSM Insider, 9 February 2016, retrieved 10 February 2016
  19. ↑ Lyf Earth 1 Price, Specifications, Features, Digit, 1 February 2016, retrieved 10 February 2016
  20. ↑ Singh, Saurabh (27 January 2016), Reliance Jio's Lyf Earth 1, Water 1 & Water 2 phones listed online, prices start at Rs.14,690, India Today, retrieved 10 February 2016
  21. ↑ Reliance Lyf Flame 1 vs Xiaomi Redmi 2 vs Coolpad Note 3 Lite, TechRadar - India, 10 February 2016, retrieved 10 February 2016
  22. ↑ Reliance Jio offers strategic Wi-Fi hotspot free services to increase user base, Mobiletor
  23. ↑ Pereira, Jonathan (December 20, 2015), Reliance Jio launches Jionet high-speed free Wi-Fi service in Indore, MobiGyaan, retrieved December 22, 2015
  24. ↑ Reliance Jio launches unlimited free WiFi in Mumbai for Ganesh Utsav, The Indian Express
  25. ↑ Reliance Jio Introduces Free Public Wifi in Kolkata, How to Use Jionet Wifi ?, Telecom Talk
  26. ↑ Reliance Jio launches free Wi-Fi service in Lucknow's Hazratganj, The Economic Times - Telecom
  27. ↑ Reliance Jio Launches 4G Wi-Fi Internet Service in Bhubaneswar, Gadgets 360
  28. ↑ Mussoorie, the First Hill Station to receive Reliance Jio's Wi-Fi Service, Reliance News
  29. ↑ Reliance Jio to offer free 4G-backed WiFi service at Meerut Collectorate, The Economic Times
  30. ↑ Reliance Jio rolls out wi-fi service at MG Road in Vijayawada, The Times of India, 11 January 2016, retrieved 12 January 2016
  31. ↑ "T20 World Cup 2016: Free unlimited Wi-Fi at 6 stadiums, courtesy Reliance Jio".
  32. ↑ Chedalla, Teja (5 May 2016), "8 Reliance Jio Specific Apps go Live on Google Play Store, iOS coming soon", Phone Radar, retrieved 20 May 2016
  33. ↑ "MyJio", Google Play, Reliance Jio Digital Services Pvt. Ltd., 9 May 2016, retrieved 20 May 2016
  34. ↑ Mookerji, Nivedita (20 May 2016), "Election apps find flavour in poll season", Business Standard, retrieved 20 May 2016
  35. ↑ Bhupta, Malini. "Reliance Jio test drive: service open to select customers through invite only". Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  36. ↑ "Mobile android app store: Jio 4G Jio play app, jio tv app, jio tv channels app". digitalappstore.blogspot.in. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  37. ↑ "Reliance to launch Jio On Demand with over 450 TV channels". Indian Television Dot Com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  38. ↑ Abbas, Muntazir (16 October 2015), "Jio Chat crosses 2 million users in less than six months", The Economic Times (India), retrieved 20 May 2016
  39. ↑ "Reliance Jio to Launch Jio Play, Jio Beats, Jio Mags, Jio News and Jio Money - TeleAnalysis". TeleAnalysis. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  40. ↑ "Jio Join app: First look and comprehensive feature review". Telecom Talk. 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  41. ↑ "Exclusive First look at Reliance Jio Mags: Jio's answer to Google's Play Newsstand". Telecom Talk. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  42. ↑ "Reliance Jio Offers 4G Connections Through Referral Scheme - CXOtoday.com". www.cxotoday.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  43. ↑ "Exclusive First look at Jio Drive : India's answer to Google drive and One drive, to offer 100 GB storage". Telecom Talk. 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  44. ↑ Bendre, Ritesh (12 May 2016), "Reliance JioMoney Wallet app first impressions: Good potential, needs design overhaul", Boy Genius Report, retrieved 20 May 2016
  45. ↑ Pan India 2015 spectrum holding data sheet (updated), Telecom Talk, retrieved 30 November 2015
  46. ↑ Reliance Jio to share RCom spectrum in seven circles, The Hindu Business Line
  47. ↑ "Reliance Jio Signs Deal With BSNL to Address One of Its Potential Pain Points".
  48. ↑ Bhupta, Malini (December 25, 2015), SRK is brand ambassador of Reliance Jio, Business Standard, retrieved December 29, 2015
  49. ↑ Shah Rukh Khan is Reliance Jio's brand ambassador, Brand Equity - The Economic Times, December 26, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  50. ↑ Mukherjee, Promit (December 24, 2015), Reliance Jio ropes in Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador, Livemint, retrieved December 29, 2015
  51. ↑ Reliance Industries buys 95% stake in IBnfotel Broadband for Rs 4,800 cr, The Economic Times Business Line
  52. ↑ RIL's Infotel Broadband renamed Reliance Jio Infocomm, The Times of India Business Line
  53. ↑ Reliance Jio to launch commercial operations by December; to alter telecom industry landscape, say experts, The Economic Times
  54. ↑ "Petition against 4G licence to Reliance Jio: Apex court seeks Centre's reply". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  55. ↑ "Reliance Jio goes for the kill". Rediff.com. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  56. ↑ "DoT refutes CAG's charges of favouring Reliance Jio by allowing it to convert its ISP permit into a unified license". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  57. ↑ Reliance Jio 4G launch in 28 photos: Shah Rukh Khan, AR Rahman, Ambani family make the event memorable, CNN-IBN, December 27, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  58. ↑ Reliance Jio launches 4G service for employees, Business Standard, December 27, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  59. ↑ Reliance Jio 4G Services Launched for Reliance Employees, Gadgets 360 - NDTV, December 25, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  60. ↑ Reliance Jio employees to get freebies, discount on 4G service, Gadgets 360 - NDTV, December 25, 2015, retrieved December 29, 2015
  61. ↑ "Reliance Jio creates world record: 16 million subscribers in one month". The Indian Express. 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  62. ↑ http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/reliance-jio-crosses-50-million-subscriber-mark-in-83-days-4400972/
  63. ↑ "Truce in sight? Trai summons Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to settle fight with Reliance Jio - The Economic Times".
  64. ↑ "You can't hold off Reliance Jio for long, Mukesh Ambani tells rivals - The Economic Times".
  65. ↑ Jain, Upasana (12 September 2016). "Idea agrees to give Reliance Jio interconnection points".
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