Reliance to launch Jio Fibre services soon: report

20 Jul 2017

After the disruptive launch of the `Reliance Jio Infocomm' 4G mobile telecom services, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited is all set to launch its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband service in India. The service, called 'Reliance JioFi', will be rolled out as a preview in the coming weeks, say reports.

Reliance Jio Fibre launch will follow the Jio Infocomm model as initial services will be almost free except that subscribers who register for Jio fibre broadband preview will be required to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs4,500.

The company will be offering Jio Fibre service free in the initial run, according to reports.

Jio Fibre broadband will offer up to 1GBps of speeds, and at least 100Mbps during preview. However, it's still not clear whether Jio Fibre broadband preview will be available for the initial three months as in the case of Jio 4G preview.

However, the Jio Fibre service will come with 100 GB under fair use policy (FUP), after which the speeds will go down to 1 Mbps.

Jio Fibre broadband preview is expected to go live starting with Mumbai and hopefully other cities will follow in the days to come.

An India Today report also said Jio Fibre's official website - which hasn't gone live yet - will also soon open for the general public.

Jio has already tested the fiber service in Mumbai and Pune in its Beta version by making the service to select customers. The preview will make it available in more areas, within Mumbai, as well as in several other cities.

Jio Fibre will offer a welcome respite from the clogged wireless connections that now offer 2G, 3G and 4G services in most parts of the country.

As of now, such services are provided by local ISPs whose services are erratic and prone to disruptions.

Jio is also reported to be gearing up to launch its DTH service with in-house smart TV boxes, but there's very little information about this.

Meanwhile, Airtel has announced the launch of V-Fibre that offers consumers in select cities and areas speeds of up to 100 Mbps using the ADSL2 technology. Airtel has also started ramping up its fibre-to-the-home service, trying to expand it to more areas in the country.