Reliance Jio 5G launched in 11 cities in largest multi-state rollout
In its largest multi-state rollout of 5G services to date, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, has announced the launch of its 5G services across 11 cities of the country. These superfast 5G services have been launched in Lucknow, Trivandram, Mysuru, Nashik, Aurangabad, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Zirakpur, Kharar and Derabassi. Jio says the idea behind tapping these cities is that they are key tourist destinations as well as key educational hubs. As part of the launch offer, Jio users in these cities will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, which will provide unlimited data at up to 1 Gbps speed, with no extra cost.
"We are proud to roll out Jio True 5G in 11 cities and make it one of our largest launches since we started rolling out True 5G services. This is a tribute to the millions of Jio users in these cities who will now commence 2023 by enjoying the transformational benefits of Jio True 5G technology," said a Jio spokesperson.
The 5G services will give users fast internet speed and provide opportunities in the areas of e-governance, education, automation, artificial intelligence, gaming, healthcare, agriculture, IT and SMEs. After the demonstration of its True-5G services at the India Mobile Congress 2022, Jio announced the 5G Beta trial on Dussehra in October 2022 in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi.
In November 2022, Reliance Jio became the first company to launch 5G across the Delhi-NCR, launching the services across Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad. Before that, it had launched 5G services in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
With intense competition from rival telco Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio is pushing hard to ramp up 5G infrastructure in the country. It aims to build a strong pan-India 5G network and ensure a countrywide 5G rollout by end of 2023. For this, Jio has committed an investment of ₹2 lakh crore. It has also entered into a strategic alliance with global players, including Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson and Finnish telecommunications firm Nokia, to develop a 5G network in India.
Reliance Jio says it plans to deploy a 5G standalone network, which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low latency.
At the company’s 45th annual general meeting (AGM), Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, said that with the launch of the 5G network, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate will use wireless and wireline assets to blanket 3.3 million square kilometres of India’s landmass with fibre quality broadband.
India’s second-largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has crossed the 1 million unique 5G user mark on its network.
On the other hand, India’s second-largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel in November had crossed the 1 million unique 5G user mark on its network, achieving the milestone within 30 days of the 5G services launch. The company had also launched its 5G service in key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The services in these cities are getting rolled out in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network and complete the rollout. The telco had promised between 20 and 30 times higher speeds on its 5G network compared with the existing 4G service. The recent additions to its 5G network are Jammu & Srinagar, Pune, Vizag, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Imphal, and Shimla.