Reliance Jio bought spectrum in the 1800 MHz band last February.
Reliance is leveraging the technological change of building a virtualised 5G network which would see the current hardware-dependent networks shift to software-centric platforms.
While Reliance Jio added 3.65 million users in May, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea continued to lose subscribers.
With the latest spectrum acquisition, the telecom venture would be the holder of the largest quantum of liberalised spectrum.
Reliance Jio is close to finalising its contract with telecom gear maker Ericsson to roll out its 5G network in Mumbai and Maharashtra and Kolkata and West Bengal in the first phase of its launch in October. And it is going with Nokia for the lucrative Delhi circle, and Chennai, which includes Tamil Nadu, say sources aware of the development. This is the first time that Jio is opting for multiple vendors.
Trial offer is only by invite as of now, but is expected to be extended soon to select customers of Reliance Digital Express.
It came as a surprise to all stakeholders - competing telecom companies (telcos), most analysts and even the government's internal projections on revenues from the 5G auctions. Reliance Jio disrupted all calculations by paying a stiff Rs 40,000 crore to buy 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700-MHz band, globally considered a key band for efficient 5G service coverage, along with the default 3.5 GHz band and the ultra-high speed and low-latency millimetre band of 26 GHz band. So what made Jio pay almost 45 per cent of its total spend in this auction for the 700 MHz band - much more than what it rustled up even for the 3.5 GHz band?
Jio is targeting to differentiate its services via superior data and an associated ecosystem of content.
In what could be one of the largest launches in the telecom services space, Reliance Jio Infocomm is set to roll out its 4G LTE services in 800 Indian cities between April and June next year.
Airtel Xstream will allow its subscribers to access live TV, video, music, news and sports on an over-the-top smart stick, interned-enabled set top box, and handheld devices.
Once launched, RJio services will cover over 18,000 towns and over 200,000 villages across all the 22 service areas of the country
Gearing up for its pan-India 4G services launch in coming months, Reliance Jio Infocomm has approached the Department of Telecom for a network test conducted along with security agencies.
Reliance Jio said certain tariff plans will continue to give subscribers free streaming access to IPL 2025.
The joined statement comes on the back of a recent media report that JioStar, owned by Reliance, has formally informed the ICC of its intention to withdraw from its four-year media rights deal despite two years still remaining on the contract, citing financial losses.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has moved the Bombay High Court seeking approval for amalgamating its long distance services arm Infotel with itself.
A key blow for JioStar came from an unlikely source: The Indian government's ban on real-money gaming, the sector that had become cricket's biggest advertiser.
'There is no doubt at all that Jio's disruption of the mobile broadband market was a turning point for India's digital economy.'
With the Adanis submitting an earnest money deposit (EMD) of just Rs 100 crore on Monday for the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, the apprehension among the rivals that the group is nursing ambitions of being an all-India mobile player has been allayed at least for now. Based on its EMD, analysts say it can buy spectrum worth just Rs 900 crore, whose use will be limited to enterprises and captive networks -- that too is likely only in a few circles where it has its infrastructure like ports, airports, and power stations. While getting all-India millimetre band spectrum of 400 MHz (which costs Rs 2,800 crore) is ruled out, it might choose circles like Gujarat and Mumbai to start with.
Reliance group firm employee under the scheme can invite 10 people to buy Jio's 4G sim and LYF Handset.
Reliance Jio's aggressive target to reach 100 million households through the launch of the 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) could make it one of the world's largest players in this space. But this also marks a change from its earlier strategy of offering fibre-to-the home (FTTH) broadband to households. Despite its best efforts, in two years Jio has been able to connect only 7 million households with FTTH, as permission for right of way for the last mile became a major impediment and the process of laying ducts for the roll-out was slow and cumbersome.
Data traffic generated by such tests is rivaling combined traffic other operators present for 15-20 years
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal of Reliance Industries Limited and two of its officials against a decision of the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which had upheld a penalty imposed by markets regulator Sebi for not making prompt clarification to stock exchange about the Jio-Facebook deal.
Total wireless subscribers increased from 1.1 billion, in January to 1.2 billion in February, thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.72 per cent.
The Unified Licence for all 22 Service Areas across India will make the company the first telecom operator in the country to get pan India Unified Licence, the company said in a statement.
Reliance joins a number of large companies, including the Essar and Adani groups, which are raising loans abroad as interest rates in India remain high.
Airtel rolls out fourth-generation (4G) data service across 296 cities.
Gujarat Titans, aiming for consistency, face a tough challenge against the in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their upcoming Indian Premier League match.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra has criticised the Gujarat Titans' over-reliance on their top three batsmen and questioned Shubman Gill's captaincy in the IPL.
Reliance Jio, India's biggest telecom operator, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and listing on bourses in the first half of 2026, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. Jio is currently a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company.
The advertisement with the PM's face has not amused social media. In fact, it wondered if the usage of the image was even legal.
Reliance Jio's decision to acquire 700 MHz in combination with the possible use of an advanced standalone (SA) 5G network could give it an edge over its rivals, according to most analysts. The dissenters argue that the stiff price tag touching Rs 40,000 crore to grab 10 MHz of spectrum in 700 to provide coverage for its SA 5G network which offers ultra-low latency (unlike non-standalone or NSA), has a long way to go in India in terms of finding use cases that can be monetised. Globally, 700 MHz is a pivotal band which provides huge coverage, indoor penetration (especially useful in India where walls are thick) and is already considered by the European Union to be the 'pioneer band' for 5G, with 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz, both of which were auctioned in India recently.
Jio, which launched its services in September, had no revenue from operations during October 2016 to March 2017
The Iran conflict led to a sharp correction in Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL's) share price, which has been partially reversed by a rebound.
It has suggested OTTs be subject to the same security requirements that a traditional TSP has to adhere to.
Reliance Jio may not ask for a premium for its 5G services in the initial stages of the launch, according to sources in the company. The company will roll out 5G commercial services in four cities -Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata - around Diwali this month and slowly ramp up the processes for other cities, too. A senior executive, when asked whether Jio will charge higher tariffs for 5G against 4G, said: "In the initial stages, customers have to adopt 5G, then they will have to find value in the service, and then one can look at monetisation."
DoT and the company have not done anything that breached the guidelines mentioned in the notice inviting applications for the auction of the BWA spectrum in 2010, it stated in a reply to CAG's draft audit report.
ICICI Securities expects Jio Platforms' ensuing IPO to fetch "premium valuations", as was the case in the high-profile equity raise of FY21, and has pegged the company's equity value at $148 billion by September 2027.
Global rating agency Fitch on Tuesday said the imminent entry of Reliance Jio into the telecom space will see a likely 20 per cent fall in data tariffs, but will not have any impact on the credit profile of the top four incumbents in the medium term as their revenue is on an uptick on rising voice tariffs and improving regulatory environment.
The licensee will have to ensure that at least half the areas under rural telecom exchanges gets the required street level coverage.
Essel Group, Reliance Jio, Fortis and 17 others on Thursday signed initial pacts to invest over Rs 39,000 crore (Rs 390 billion) in Uttar Pradesh, with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav promising the investors all possible support.
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