Reliance Jio to launch 5G in key metros by Diwali; to invest Rs 2 lakh crore

RIL said Reliance added 2.32 lakh jobs across all its businesses with Reliance retail, becoming one of the largest employers in the country.
RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani. (Screengrab from Jio 45th AGM live)
RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani. (Screengrab from Jio 45th AGM live)

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has said that Reliance Jio will launch its 5G services in many key cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai by Diwali, and by December 2023 will make every town, every taluka and every tehsil of India 5G-enabled.

"We have committed a total investment of Rs 2 lakh crore. Jio has prepared an ambitious 5G rollout plan, the fastest ever for a country, in the next two months, that is by Diwali of 2022. Subsequently, we plan to increase the geo 5G footprint month after month until December of 2023, which is less than 18 months from today to deliver Jio 5G to every town, every taluka and every tehsil of the country," Ambani said at the 45th annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

He said Jio 5G will be the world's largest and most advanced 5G network.

The other Telecom Service Providers(TSPs), Ambani said, are deploying a version of 5G, which is essentially a 5G radio signal that is delivered over their existing 4G infrastructure.

In sharp contrast, Jio will deploy the latest version of 5G -- standalone 5G -- that has absolutely zero dependency on its 4G network. "With standalone 5G, Jio can deliver new and powerful services like low latency, massive machine to machine communication, 5G voice edge computing and network," he said.

The RIL chairman said that Jio firmly believes that digital freedom is the birthright of every Indian and therefore 5G cannot remain an exclusive service available only to the privileged few in our largest cities. To ensure this, the company has acquired a coveted 700 MHz band that can provide 6-10 km of signal range in all 22 circles in the country.

The company is also working very closely with all leading global smartphone OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer). To speed up quick 5G deployment in the country, it has also partnered with Qualcomm.

"We have indigenously developed an end-to-end 5G stack. This is 100% developed by our own over 2000 young Jio engineers working tirelessly for the past three years. We have already deployed this made in India 5G stack in our network with sufficient capacity to serve hundreds of millions of users from day one," said Ambani.

Furthermore, Jio 5G is uniquely positioned to offer private 5G solutions for Indian enterprises.

Currently, Reliance Jio has over 121 million mobile broadband subscribers on its 4G network. They consume on average nearly 20 GB of broadband data every month. "We are committed to make India the largest data powered economy in the world, even ahead of China and the US," he added.

Talking about the fixed broadband services in India, Ambani said with about 20 million connections, India is ranked a lowly 138 in the world in fixed broadband adoption. Thus, Jio will help India to be among the top 10 global in fixed broadband adoption.

"Unlike in leading nations, the vast majority of our homes, offices and businesses have been deprived of the power of fixed broadband and ubiquitous indoor Wi Fi and consequently, the power of modern digital tools. This has to change and change fast. Jio will change this," he added.

Ambani said today Jio's fibre optic network is more than 11 lakh route kilometres in length, enough to go around the planet Earth, more than 27 times over.

"We also saw acceleration in the adoption of Jio fiber, two out of every three new customers choosing Jio fiber.. . with over 7 million connected premises, a feat achieved in less than two years despite COVID lockdown," he added.

Reliance became India's first corporate to cross $100 billion in annual revenues and its consolidated revenues grew 47% to Rs 7.93 lakh crores or $104.6 billion. Its annual consolidated EBITDA crossed the crucial milestone of Rs 1.25 lakh crores. Reliance continues to be the largest taxpayer in the country by way of various direct and indirect taxes.

The company said Reliance added 2.32 lakh jobs across all its businesses with Reliance retail, becoming one of the largest employers in the country.

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