Reliance Jio Might be Finally Launching on December 27

After waiting with bated breath for the last few months, it seems that Reliance employees are finally getting the invite from Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani to attend the Reliance Jio launch on December 27, incidentally a day before Reliance industry founder Mr Dhirubhai Ambani’s birthday. The event is touted to be live telecasted in 1000 locations and expected to be a gala affair.

The launch was imminent as Reliance was conducting its 4G field trial since November 2010 on its campus, further the company had said that it will be launching trials in July last year and this phase would be extended from the end of 2014 to early 2015.

Airtel and Vodafone had long anticipated this move from Reliance and hence they had started investing additional funds to strengthen the infrastructure and increase its coverage. In fact in an interview with Livemint, Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Airtel had said that Mukesh Ambani will shake up the telecom industry with the $15-Billion 4G wireless service. Reliance Industries had said earlier in October earning reports that it will be ramping up its beta program and the actual operations are set to begin in the early 2016.

It also seems that Bollywood stars including Shahrukh Khan have also been invited to the event and the event is most likely to be followed by the Jio brand launch as well. Reliance Jio is expected to poach the premium customers using Airtel and Vodafone’s 4G services and although it looks like a much simple task, in reality, it is daunting. Ariel’s latest investment of Rs 60,000 Crore and the Vodafone’s Rs 13,000 crore means that both the telecom operators are armed with upgraded infrastructure and support to tackle the Jio. Additionally, the Reliance Jio uses the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) which is automatically considered as a better option to the traditional calls, but there aren’t enough handsets in the country which already support VoLTE.

The invite is the only pointer at the upcoming launch of Reliance Jio and as of now we have not received any sorts of official communication from the company, in all likelihood the dates might change but the fact that the launch is nearing is something that should interest us.

Reliance Jio to launch 4G in select areas on December 28: Report

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to launch 4G services by the end of December in some select areas, including Mumbai, according to a note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoFA-ML). The firm however added that a pan-India commercial start could be delayed till April-June 2016, which would be a relief to incumbent telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular.

“In a scenario Jio launches by December 28, we remain unsure 1) if it will be a commercial launch with the company disclosing price-points or 2) if it will be an extension of services which are currently being offered to employees to select user group/Jio partners,” the firm said in a note.

Reliance Jio is expected to position itself as an “aspirational brand” offering premium services (high-speed) and is unlikely to target average revenue per users (ARPUs) below Rs 300, the note said.

Jio’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) calls were working well in Mumbai, even while travelling and inside buildings, BoFA-ML said. Similar findings were revealed by brokerage firm Credit Suisse.

BoFA-ML said that data speeds ranged from 18-30 Mbps while travelling/inside buildings to as high as 60-70 Mbps when outside. “We believe this is largely due to an empty network while Jio currently has. We remain unsure if Jio network is offering similar speeds outside Mumbai particularly in circles where they only have 2300 MHz,” BoFA-ML said.

Reliance Jio procuring smartphones from ZTE for Lyf handset brand: Credit Suisse

Chinese handset maker ZTE is currently making VoLTE-ready 4G smartphones for Reliance Jio’s Lyf handset brand, a report by Credit Suisse revealed. The report also said that all the ZTE devices made for Jio’s Lyf brand are powered by Qualcomm chipsets. Currently, only Qualcomm chipsets support VoLTE functionality.

Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only pan-Indian 4G operator, and it has recently started beta-testing 4G network by issuing connections to employees and their families. There are total four smartphones aptly named- LYF Water 1, LYF Water 2, LYF Water 3 and LYF Earth 1 are released by Lyf brand. Currently, these handsets are rolled out to its employees and would soon be available to the customers.

Jio plans to sell these handsets via their Reliance Retail stores as well as online. The partnership talks are going on with leading eCommerce websites like Flipkart and Snapdeal, according to media reports. Jio, according to Credit Suisse, has recommended a list of about 20 smartphone models across vendors that support its VoLTE service.

The other vendors currently supporting Reliance Jio’s services include Samsung, LG, Lenovo and ZTE. The cheapest recommended phone currently is the Intex Aqua 4G, which is priced under $130. While this range and price points of handset models is underwhelming for a market like India, the firm believes more handsets across vendors and price points will be supported in coming weeks.

Facebook’s Internet.org Now Available Throughout India

Internet.org, Facebook’s initiative to provide free Internet services in developing countries, is now available to all Indians through the Free Basics app on Reliance Communication’s network. The project is meant to give people in emerging economies easy access to the Internet, but has been hit by a slew of criticism.

Reliance Communications is India’s fourth-largest telecom operator, with about 110 million subscribers as of June. According to its site, Free Basics will enable users to use Facebook and Facebook Messenger and access sites like Wikipedia, BBC News, Bing Search, Dictionary.com, and local news services.

Detractors say that by making a handful of services available on its platform, Internet.org gives preferential treatment to its partners, therefore violating the tenets of net neutrality.

In response, Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg said Internet.org will focus on offering basic services for free (hence the branding of its app) and is not meant to limit access to other providers. The company has also taken steps to make joining Free Basics easier to join for developers and other potential partners.

This has done little to ameliorate critics who are concerned about the potential drawbacks of having a company as large and powerful as Facebook control what millions of new Internet users see.

In addition to India, Free Basics is available in 30 countries throughout Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Rcom introduces smartcare, customers can now manage and customize their account on twitter

Reliance Communications, today announced a milestone launch in the Digital Social Media space—Smartcare on Twitter—providing various user account management services to the Company’s wireless subscribers via Twitter’s live, public platform. Smartcare on Twitter empowers wireless customers to manage their user account by simply using their Twitter account login.

This new customer service initiative platform will let users explore a range of account information and services without having to reach out to traditional Customer Service representatives. As the first-ever such initiative in the country by a telecom player, Smartcare on Twitter allows customers to Tweet to ‘@RelianceMobile’, using specific keywords and hash-tags in order to get account information such as their balance/outstanding amount, facilitate online recharges and make bill payments, activate and deactivate any specific services, and more. Once the customer Tweets a query, the requisite information will be sent back to him/her as a Twitter Direct Message (DM). This will significantly increase customers’ digital interaction with RCOM and greatly reduce the need to physically contact Customer Care.

Announcing the launch of this game-changing service, Mr Gurdeep Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Business, Reliance Communications, said: “This is part of our endeavor to empower customers, making service and self-help possible on Twitter’s popular social media platform, creating pride of ownership. This is the country’s first such initiative by a telecom player, utilizing the Twitter platform, including real-time back-end analytics tracking to enable customers to make informed choices and customize their accounts as per their preferences and usage requirements.”

The Twitter-based SmartCare service enables users to take control of their mobile account, data usage, recharge and pay bills, etc., through the use of simple Tweets. To introduce this unique service to its users, RCOM has launched a Digital Campaign—#KaashEkTweetSe—asking users to share what they would want to achieve with just one Tweet, and tagging Reliance Mobile’s Twitteraccount @RelianceMobile.

Mr Arvinder Gujral, Director, Business Development, Twitter Asia-Pacific, said: “As Indians spend more and more time on social media, most forward-thinking and successful organizations such as Reliance Communications are integrating Twitter into their operations to increase engagement and satisfaction with their customers. As a platform for live, public conversations, Twitter is transforming customer relationship management by making it easier and faster for RCOM’s subscribers to get a whole range of account services with a simple Tweet. Smartcare on Twitter is an innovation that will provide an essential daily service in the lives of RCOM’s subscribers.”

RCOM unveiled the service by revealing that while not everything may be possible with just one Tweet, managing your Reliance Mobile account is now possible with SmartCare on Twitter. “The excellent and very creative participation from users in the campaign gives us confidence that this further innovation adds tremendous value to our customers,” Mr Singh added.