Jio Fiber to Offer 100Mbps Broadband, Unlimited Calls, and Jio TV at Less Than Rs. 1,000: Report

Reliance Jio has been testing its Jio Fiber fixed line broadband services since September 2016 and offering free data through preview plans to select users. But now, it has been reported that the telco is set to bring its broadband services to the public at a monthly charge of less than Rs. 1,000. The services at a speed of 100Mbps are said to be available in India by the end of this year with the inclusion of unlimited voice and video calls over a VoIP phone, and access to the Jio TV app, as per a report. Jio rival Bharti Airtel notably brought its 300Mbps broadband plan last month that comes with a monthly rental of Rs. 2,199. However, the cheapest 100Mbps broadband plan by the Gurugram-based operator comes at Rs. 1,099 and is subject to an FUP data limit of 250GB.

Based on the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) model, Jio Fiber services will be available with unlimited calling through a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone and JioTV, reports Mint, citing a person familiar with the development. Reliance Jio hasn't defined any tariffs yet, though it is reported that the broadband services could be available under Rs. 1,000 a month.

Jio Fiber is presently in testing in select markets, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, Jamnagar, Mumbai, and New Delhi among others. In these markets, subscribers are provided with free broadband with unlimited Internet access at 100Mbps speed against a security deposit of Rs. 4,500.

Alongside giving limitless data, Jio is reportedly using VoIP to offer unlimited voice calls to subscribers opting Jio Fiber. The broadband services are also said to be available offered along with JioTV access, which competes against services such as Amazon Prime Video and Airtel TV. All this shows that the Mumbai-headquartered company is aiming to repeat the history of disrupting the telecom sector in India.

We've reached out to Jio to understand the Jio Fiber tariffs in detail and will update this space accordingly.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the new initial plan of Jio Fiber offers as much as 1.1TB of free data to subscribers paying the refundable security amount of Rs. 4,500. The plan by default offers 100GB of free data per month 100Mbps speed, but it was claimed that subscribers can avail 40GB of additional data in the form of top-ups, 25 times in a month - effectively obtaining 1,100GB or roughly 1.1TB of free data.

The subscriber base of Jio reached 186.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, up from the 160.1 million subscriber base it had reported in the previous quarter, as per the latest quarterly results. The company also added as many as 26.5 million new users in the first quarter.

Is the Reliance Jio effect spreading to postpaid connections in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.