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Mon,Dec282015.0725PMIST

RelianceJiostarts4Gservicesforstaffaheadofcommercial
launch
RelianceJios4Gservicesavailableto120,000employees,theirfamiliesandbusinesspartnersinsoftlaunch
Mumbai:RelianceIndustriesLtd(RIL)chairmanMukeshAmbanion
Sundayannouncedthecompanysreentryintothetelecombusiness
byunveilingafourthgeneration(4G)serviceforitsemployees.
Ambanididntdisclosewhencommercialoperationswillbegin.
TherolloutoftheservicemarksMukeshAmbanisofficialreturnto
thetelecomsectorafterRILstelecomunitwashandedtoyounger
brotherAnilAmbaniaspartofasettlementtosplitthefamilybusiness
foundedbytheirfather.Thereentryintothetelecombusinessisalso
likelytointensifycompetitionforincumbents,particularlyinthe
lucrativedatabusiness.

Photo:AmitDave/Reuters

BhartiAirtelLtd,VodafoneIndiaLtdandIdeaCellularLtdarethe
onlycompanieswhohavecommerciallylaunched4Gtelecom
servicesinIndia.

RelianceJioInfocommLtd(RJio)s4Gserviceswillnowbe
availabletoroughly120,000employees,theirfamiliesandbusinesspartnersfromMonday,whichisalsothe83rdbirthanniversaryofRIL
founderDhirubhaiAmbani.
Jioisnotabouttechnicalbruteforcebuttoreimaginehowtodothingsbetter,Ambanisaidinhisaddressatthelaunchceremony.The
motivationbehindJio,headded,istobringIndiaspopulationofover1.2billionunderthedigitalumbrella.
TheentryintothetelecombusinessisAmbanisbiggestbetinaconsumercentricindustryafterRILsentryintoorganizedretail,whose
profitsarestillmeagreafternineyearsofoperations.
Thefirmhasinvestedcloseto$15billioninthetelecomventuresofar,butanalystshavebeenwaryofthecompanysabilitytogenerate
positivereturnsforatleastthenextfiveyearsintheabsenceofclarityonthebusinessmodelandsubscriberadditionstrategies.
ThedegreeofJioscommercialsuccesswilldependnotonlyontheproductoffering,pricing,anduserexperience,butalsoontheabilityto
transitionsubscribersfastenoughto4Ghandsets,saidareportbyCitiResearch,adivisionofCitigroupIndiaPvt.Ltd,on21December.
SundayslaunchisthelaststeptowardsapanIndiancommerciallaunchandclearstheairofuncertaintyovertimelines,butthequalityof
servicewillbethereallitmustestforRJio,saidatelecomconsultant,whodidnotwishtobeidentifiedasRJioishisclient.
Companyofficialshadindicatedthatacommerciallaunchwilltakeplaceinthesecondhalfofthenextfiscal.
Thecompanywillusethecurrentlaunchtoironouttechnicalissuesbeforethecommerciallaunch.
BythrowingopentheJioservicestoallitsbusinesspartners,anditsvastnumberofemployeesandtheirfamiliesspreadallacrossIndia,
RILwillbemakingtheoptimaluseofhumanresourcestoensurethatthelastandtheslightestwrinklewouldbesmoothedouttoperfection
beforeJiolaunchesitsallIndiacommercialservices,saidacompanynoteissuedonSunday.
RJioholdsthehighestamountofliberalized(freetouseforanyservice)spectrumamongtelecomoperators,totalling51.1MHzacrossthe
800MHz,1,800MHzand2,300MHzbands.Ithasspectruminthe2,300MHzbandacrossall22circles,inthe1,800MHzbandacross18
circles,andinthe800MHzbandacross10circles.RJioisintalkstoshareAnilAmbaniledRelianceCommunicationLtds800MHzband
spectrumacrosssevencircles.RJiohasalsolauncheditsownbrandof4GphonescalledLYF,sofaravailabletocompanyemployees.
Sometelecomexpertshavedoubtedthecompanysabilitytooffervoicebasedcallsduetoitsheavydependenceonthe2,300MHzband,
whichdoesnotsupportvoicecalls.Thiswasdescribedasthecompanysbiggestweaknessbecauseofthefactthatwhileotheroperators
whowerepreparingtooffer4Gservices,includingBhartiAirtelandIdeaCellular,canfallbackontheir2Gand3Gspectrum,RJiolacked
thatoption.
Therefore,thecompanyplannedtooffervoicebasedcallsthroughitshighspeed4Gservices,calledVoLTE,orvoiceoverLTE.
LTEorlongtermevolutionisaninternationalstandardofhighspeedcommunicationforthetransmissionof4Gsignals.
RJiohasnotmentionedanythingabouttheserviceindetail.However,nowsincetheemployeesandpartnershaveaccesstotheservice,it
willbeinterestingtoseewhethertheserviceisgood,especiallythevoicebasedservice.Agoodvoicebasedservicewillbethecompanys
maindifferentiator,saidthetelecomconsultantcitedearlier.
BrokerageCreditSuisse(India)Pvt.Ltdinanotereleasedon14Decembersaidthatthenetworkundertestingphaseworksbetterthan
BhartiAirtels4Gnetwork,butthatthiscouldalsobebecausethe4Gnetworkitselfisnotpopulatedenoughcurrently.
Thebrokerageconductedatestofthetwocompaniesservicesrecently.
MukeshAmbani,inhisaddress,spokeaboutthephilosophybehindtheJiobrand,underwhichthe4Gservicesarebeinglaunched.
Iwantallofyoutotakefivethingsback:digitallife,connectedintelligence,Jiolife,JiotogetherandJiocelebration,hesaid.
NitaAmbani,boardmemberofRILandMukeshAmbaniswife,said,WewilluseJiotodeliverhealthandeducationacrossthecountry.It
willbreaktheruralurbandivide.

ThelaunchattheRelianceCorporatePark,thecompanyscampusatNaviMumbai,wasattendedby35,000employeesofthecompany
directlyandover80,000employeesthroughvideoconferencingfromofficesacrossthecountryandabroad.
TheservicewasflaggedoffbyfilmactorShahRukhKhan,whoisalsothebrandambassadorofJiothebrandnameunderwhichthe
telecomservicewillbelaunched.
MusicianA.R.RahmanalsoperformedattheRelianceJiolaunchevent.