Reliance Jio To Launch Beta Trial Of 5G Services In 4 Cities On Dussehra

Telecom operator Reliance Jio on Tuesday (October 4) announced the beta launch of its 5G (True-5G) services on Dussehra (October 5) in four cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi.

As part of the beta launch, Jio will invite select users to use its 5G services under ‘Jio True 5G Welcome Offer’. Besides, the telecom operator will also take customers’ feedback about the services and their experience.

The selected users will get unlimited 5G data with up to 1 Gbps+ speeds. They will not have to change their existing Jio SIM and would be automatically upgraded to Jio’s 5G service. 

Jio said that the selected users will continue to avail its beta trial until the telecom operator covers the entire city to provide better coverage and experience to every customer.

It must be noted that Jio’s rival Bharti Airtel launched its 5G services in 8 Indian cities last week. 

“By embracing 5G, Jio will create nation-first platforms and solutions that will transform skill development, education, healthcare, agriculture and other sectors with the promise of enabling a better life for every Indian,” Reliance Jio Infocomm Chairman Akash Ambani said. 

Jio is currently working with smartphone companies to build 5G handsets that can further support its 5G services. It currently has over 425 Mn users. 

In August, during Reliance Industries’ AGM, its chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Jio would launch 5G networks in 13 key Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, by Diwali. 

Speaking at India Mobile Congress (IMC), where Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services, Mukesh Ambani reiterated that Jio’s 5G services will reach every Indian town by December 2023.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has said that the telco’s 5G services would be available in most Indian cities by March 2023 and across the country by March 2024. The other major telco, Vodafone Idea, has said that it would soon launch 5G services, but hasn’t given any timeline for it.

Telecom Minister Ashwinin Vaishnaw last week said that state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will also launch its 5G services by August next year.

5G services will provide higher internet speeds and reduce latency. “To my mind, it is a foundational technology that unlocks the full potential of other 21st-century technologies like AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain and Metaverse,” Mukesh Ambani said about 5G services at IMC.

Jio is also reportedly planning to launch a laptop named JioBook, priced under INR 15K, in the next three months. The company has started taking orders from schools and government institutions. The laptop will be available for sale by January 2023.

Last month, the Department of Telecommunications also gave approval to Reliance Jio’s satellite unit Jio Satellite Communications Ltd to offer satellite-based internet services.