Will Reliance Disrupt Broadband Market With Its Spectrum Of JioFiber Services?

After revolutionising the internet adoption in India with Reliance Jio’s free internet data plans, Reliance is now drawing up the plan for a second wave of the digital revolution through JioFiber broadband services.

With the announcement made by Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani at the 42nd annual general meeting in August 2019, Reliance is looking to change the face of Indian broadband and home internet. Interestingly, the September launch of the home broadband network coincided with the launch timeline of telecom network provider Jio in 2016.

On September 5 this year, Reliance Jio launched a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet broadband service JioFiber, also known as Jio GigaFiber, in over 1,600 cities in India.

The connection will be bundled up with landline connections and an HD/4K set-top-box for smart TVs. Moreover, JioFiber will allow users to access Reliance Jio’s first OTT platform, which will enable them to watch movies of the day of their launch. The OTT platform will be commercially available in 2020.

What Is JioFiber Broadband Service?

JioFiber is offering a speed starting from 100 Mbps and go all the way up to 1 Gbps. The JioFiber monthly plan rentals start at INR 699 and go up to INR 8,499.

These plans come with access to free domestic voice calling, conferencing and international calling; TV video calling and conferencing, entertainment OTT apps, gaming, home networking, community management services, device security, AR/VR experience and more.

1. High-Speed Internet
2. Voice Assistant
3. Free Voice And Video Calling
4. 4K Set-Top Box
5. Music And Video Streaming
6. Home Networking And Smart Homes
7. Jio Security
8. Smart TV Experiences
9. JioGate Community Management
10. Online Multiplayer Gaming
11. Virtual Reality Experiences

JioFiber will let consumers users enjoy DTH and broadband services even in inclement weather. When fully deployed, JioFiber will have a bucket full of features and services for Indian users:

1. High-Speed Internet
   Just like Reliance Jio’s telecom service bringing bandwidth to mobile phone users with high-speed data and a cheaper cost, JioFibre aims to do the same with broadband services. The broadband services will offer 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps data speed to customer, becoming the fastest broadband service in India.
2. Voice Assistant
    Just like all the major players in the market across segments — Google, Apple, Amazon — Reliance Jio is also looking to launch its own voice virtual assistant to enabled users to access and navigate through the device with low-latency responses and integration of brand-related services on the voice assistant through its acquisition of Haptik.
3. Free Voice And Video Calling
   JioFiber will allow users to make free domestic, international and conference voice calls through the JioFiber broadband services. The Reliance Jio service will also enable free TV video calling and conferencing for its users.
4. 4K Set-Top Box
   The 4K set-top box is just like any regular D2H STB but will bundle Jio’s array of digital services. The Jio STB is expected to act as a gateway for all the other features JioFiber is offering, including the upcoming streaming and gaming services.
5. Music And Video Streaming
   The 4K set-top-box will come with pre-installed Reliance Jio OTT platforms to let consumers stream music and watch TV shows and movies at their convenience. Jio is also planning to launch another OTT platform, which will allow users to watch movies “First Day First Show” on JioFiber connections.
6. Home Networking And Smart Homes
   JioFiber enables a bundle of deals to convert homes into smart homes by setting up a home networking system that allows users to share images, videos to other devices connected to the broadband system.
7. Jio Security
   JioFiber also allows users to secure their homes by connecting CCTV devices to smartphones and tabs, allowing users to stay connected to their homes.
8. Smart TV Experiences
   As the world is heading towards the convenience of smart TVs, Jio has rolled out a new feature to make basic TVs smarter. With a JioRemote, users can control their TVs using voice commands.
9. JioGate Community Management
   Jio entered the app-based gated community management space with the launch of JioGate. Enabled over the JioFiber network for an entire residential complex, JioGate includes management of visitors, domestic help, deliveries and intercom services. It also includes a panic button to alert security about intruders or other emergencies.
10. Online Multiplayer Gaming
    It integrates console-like gaming experience in its Set Top Box. The Jio’s 4K Set Top Box will support most gaming controllers and allows users to use their smartphones as controllers. The gaming product will support both online multiplayer or social gaming. Jio set-top box users can play or compete with their friends, with multiplayer chat and video conferencing, just like on Microsoft’s Xbox or Sony PlayStation.
11. Virtual Reality Experiences
    Reliance also announced its mixed reality (MR) platform Holoboard, which combines augmented reality and virtual reality. Interestingly, the device is developed by Mumbai-based VR startup Tesseract, which Reliance acquired through a majority stake purchase in August.

Who Does JioFiber Compete With?

• Airtel V-Fiber Broadband
  Bharti Airtel Launched V-Fiber broadband in 2016. The service offers three plans namely Basic, Premium and Entertainment plan. The charges for which range from INR 799 to INR 2,499 per month, which offers 100 GB to 250 GB of data per month depending on the plan. Moreover the speed range in limited to 40 Mbps to 500 Mbps. As per a TRAI report of July of 2019, Airtel had over 2.40 Mn users.
• BSNL
  Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) mainly offers three broadband services — landline, Bharat Fiber and Wi-Max broadband. The state-backed provider offers plans in the range of 8-24 Mbps and this includes free calling but without any of the other features that Jio also offers such as video conferencing and free international calling. As per TRAI report of July 2019, BSNL had over 9.5 Mn connections across India.
• Hathway Cable & Datacom and Den (Reliance subsidiaries)
  In 2018, Reliance Jio made two strategic investments into broadband services Den Network and Hathway Cables and Datacom. The companies offer their services in 1,100 cities and target 50 Mn homes.  Hathway and Datacom had over 0.86 Mn subscribers, as per the TRAI report of July 2019.
• MTNL
  Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is another public sector broadband services like BSNL. The company had a monopoly over Mumbai and New Delhi until 1992, after which the telecom services were opened for private players. Most of its market share still comes from Mumbai and Delhi. It provides TriBand internet services through DSL and dial-up, which are inferior to fibre-based broadband services.
• You Broadband
  Vodafone owned-You broadband is the fifth largest broadband service provider in India. The services replaced MTNL from the position in July 2019. As per the TRAI report, the company has over 0.75 Mn subscribers in India.

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