The telecom arm of MukeshAmbani-led Reliance Industries, Reliance JioInfocomm is all set to roll out its services by 28
th December. The much-awaited launch will take place at some selected regions, including Mumbai,as revealed by global brokerage company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoFA-ML).
Reliance Jio may launch its 4G services across the country commercially in the first quarter of Financial Year 2016 – 2017.
Tests by BoFA-ML
BoFA-ML conducted some tests of Reliance Jio services. During its beta-test phase, BoFA-ML found that Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) calls from the company wereworking efficiently in Mumbai. Good voice quality was received inside buildings, as well as while traveling.
Reliance Jio network offeredhigh download speeds ranging between 18 Mbps and 30 Mbps. The speeds reached as high as 60 Mbps to 70 Mbps when accessed outdoors.
The brokerage firm said that Reliance Jio may “position itself as an aspirational brand” that will offer premium high-speed data services.
Tests by Credit Suisse
During tests conducted by Credit Suisse, Reliance Jio’s network in Mumbai gave impressive results. As per the reports, the brokerage company said that the network offered download speeds between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps during the trials, even while traveling. It peaked at 70 Mbps. At the peak speed, a movie video may be downloaded in just 30 seconds, while at 15 Mbps – 30 Mbps, it would take less than 3 minutes to download a Bollywood movie.
According to reports, Reliance Jio’s 4G speed was faster than other telecom operators. Its coverage in urban areas was also on par with the otherservice providers. Analysts from Credit Suisse experienced smooth phone calls between Reliance Jio and other networks, without any call-drops.
Analysts predict that the new entrant, Reliance Jio will give stiff competition to incumbent telecom operators in the country. It will strongly position itself in the highly competitive market. Reliance Jio will now focus on pricing and marketing execution.
Reliance Jio’s Strategy
Reliance Industries has made an investment of nearly INR 95,000 crores for the launch of country’s largest 4G broadband network. It had chalked out INR 1 lakh crore for the venture.To compete with Reliance Jio, other telecom operators are also investing a lot of money.
To earn market share, Reliance Jio will be taking over some small telecom companies. This will help the company to gain more subscribers. It may also lead to a consolidation wave.
Analysts said that consolidation will be done through buying of assets instead of complete acquisition. The assets include spectrum space, towers, and fiber optic networks, among others.
Reliance Jio may enter into partnerships with other telecom companies. It has already joined hands with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications to share the spectrum space. As per the deal, Reliance Communications will be using Reliance Jio’s 4G network, while Reliance Jio will use Reliance Communications’ 2G and 3G networks.
Reliance Jio is preparing to stand out as a digital content company, which will offer a number of app-based services to the customers. These include a mobile wallet, Jio Money, Jio Chat, and others.
Summary
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited will be launching its 4G services in selected areas by 28th December.