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.