Jio Network Rollout Substantial, Says Reliance

Reliance industries (RIL) on Friday said that it has substantially completed the rollout of Reliance Jio's network across the country and rigorous tests for a pan-India launch are now in full swing.

"In digital services, we have substantially completed the network rollout across the country and initiated the process of beta testing of our network and platforms," chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a statement after declaring the company's results for the quarter ended September 30.

In a filing with exchanges, Reliance said its Jio Infocomm has launched Wi-Fi hotspots across several locations in the country and has entered into accords with some of the state and local authorities to provide such services.

Roll-out of last-mile connectivity for its fibre-to-the-home business is also on. The company, which holds a pan-India unified licence for all net-based services, including voice and data, said that the initial test results on the network were positive.

"The company expects to ramp up its beta program over the next few weeks to further optimise the network, prior to commercial launch of operations. Financial year 2016-17 is projected to be the first year of commercial operations for Reliance Jio," the company said.

The company has also filed intimation for sharing of spectrum in the 800MHz band with Reliance Communications across seven circles to department of telecommunications (DoT).

Reliance Jio aims to offer end-to-end solutions that address the entire value chain across various digital services in key domains such as education, healthcare, security, communication, financial services, government-citizen interfaces and entertainment.