Reliance Jio may launch its JioFiber broadband service by March-end

Reliance Jio the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is expected to launch its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) JioFiber broadband service by the end of March this year, say reports.

Reliance Jio had earlier proposed to launch the service by end of 2017 and reports now suggest that that the company might launch the service by the end of this quarter.

The company is currently conducting test runs of JioFiber service in 10 major cities. The telco is expected to launch high-speed FTTH broadband in more than 30 cities in early 2018.

Reliance Jio's broadband service is likely to offer 100GB data at 100mbps speed in the initial phase as part of its preview offer.

The 4G mobile phone service provider is expected to bundle its TV service with FTTH broadband to tap over 100 million TV households across these cities, including Tier II and III. Jio may cover 50 million households in the first phase of roll-out.

The telco accidentally revealed its tariff plans for its FTTH service in July last year which suggested that it would give three months of 100GB internet at 100mbps speed under its Preview offer. Reports also suggested that subscribers may have to pay Rs4,500 initially as installation fee which will be refunded later.

Airtel, ACT Fiber, BSNL and MTNL are some of the leading broadband providers currently.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, India's premiere mobile and digital services provider, has, meanwhile, been ranked number 17 in the global list of the world's 50 Most Innovative Companies (MIC) for 2018, and number one among the Most Innovative Companies in India.

''Reliance Jio has been at the forefront of technology and innovation bringing transformational changes to the Indian digital services space and propelling India into global leadership in the digital economy. With their eco-system comprising of a network, devices, applications and content, Jio has revolutionized the Indian telecom landscape, becoming the highest quality and most affordable data market in the world'' says a release by Fast Company.

''Since the launch of Jio, our mission has been bold yet simple: to make broadband technology affordable and accessible to every person in India,'' stated Akash Ambani, director, Reliance Jio. ''We have sought nothing less than a complete transformation of the Indian telecom sector, fuelled by our commitment to bring the best products, services and value to our customers, and continuous innovation plays a major role in delivering on that promise.''

Jio joins the list of other leading global companies such as Apple, Netflix, Tencent, Amazon, Spotify and many others.

The 50 Most Innovative Companies were curated from Fast Company's Top 10 lists, which recognise pioneering companies across 36 categories, from artificial intelligence to wellness.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has built a world-class all-IP data strong future-proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. ]

It is the only network conceived and born as a mobile video network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.