NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio, India’s leading telecommunications service provider, has announced the upcoming launch of Jio AirFiber, a revolutionary fixed-wireless broadband service scheduled to debut on September 19th in the country. The announcement was made by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani during the 46th annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders held on Monday. This strategic move by the company aims to significantly enhance connectivity accessibility across India, with plans to roll out 150,000 connections daily through Jio AirFiber, a substantial increase from the current 15,000 connections facilitated by optical fiber technology.
Mukesh Ambani explained that Jio AirFiber leverages the extensive coverage of their pan-India 5G network combined with advanced wireless technologies to eliminate the requirement for last-mile fiber connectivity. He stated, “Our current optical fiber infrastructure enables us to connect around 15,000 locations on a daily basis. With the introduction of Jio AirFiber, we’re poised to elevate this expansion rate dramatically, achieving up to 150,000 connections daily.”
He further elaborated that Jio’s 5G coverage has already extended to over 96% of census towns throughout the nation. The company remains steadfast in its commitment to achieve nationwide coverage by the end of the current year, making Jio’s 5G rollout one of the swiftest of such scale globally. “Presently, Jio’s network accounts for nearly 85% of India’s operational 5G cells. Our rapid pace involves adding one 5G cell every 10 seconds, leading us to anticipate nearly one million operational 5G cells within our network by December,” Ambani highlighted.
Discussing Jio’s customer base, Ambani emphasized that the telecom giant has emerged as the preferred choice for mobile users. The utilization of Mobile Number Portability has resulted in five times more net port-ins to Jio compared to its closest competitor, Bharti Airtel. With a customer base exceeding 50 million in the 5G domain, Jio’s ambitious goal is to seamlessly transition its entire 4G customer segment to 5G technology, requiring minimal additional capital expenditure. Ambani announced that the deployment of Jio 5G broadband connections will commence nationwide from December 2023. “We’re well aware of the widespread demand for 5G connectivity among homes, small and medium businesses, factories, schools, and hospitals across India. We are fully equipped to meet this demand efficiently starting this December,” he added.
He also spotlighted Jio’s groundbreaking achievement as the world’s first operator to commercially launch services on millimeter-wave spectrum through its proprietary 5G stack. This Standalone 5G infrastructure, characterized by high capacity and low latency, is set to significantly enhance private 5G networks, home broadband, and enterprise applications.
To provide comprehensive coverage and capacity, Jio has developed low-power small cells designed to target specific high-traffic areas such as tourist destinations and temples. Ambani concluded, “With our substantial deployment scale and these advantages, Jio undeniably offers the finest 5G coverage, capacity, and overall user experience.”
Reflecting on Jio’s journey, Ambani noted that while the company relied on global partners for equipment during the 4G launch in 2016, their 5G rollout is now empowered by Jio’s fully in-house developed 5G stack. This technology incorporates advanced features such as Standalone 5G architecture, Carrier Aggregation, and Network Slicing, all enhanced by cutting-edge AI/ML capabilities that optimize network performance, reliability, and user satisfaction. Moreover, Jio’s 5G equipment is designed to seamlessly integrate with offerings from other global vendors, reinforcing the company’s commitment to innovation and collaboration in the industry.