Reliance Jio to launch 5G services in key cities by Diwali: Mukesh Ambani
Mumbai, August 29, 2022
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said here today that Reliance Jio would launch Jio 5G services across multiple key cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in the next two months, by Diwali.
"Subsequently, we plan to increase the Jio 5G footprint month after month. By December 2023, which is less than 18 months from today, we will deliver Jio 5G to every town, every taluka, and every tehsil of our country," he said at the 45th Annual General Meeting of RIL.
"With Jio 5G, we will connect everyone, every place and every thing with the highest quality and most affordable data. In addition to meeting India's needs, we are confident of offering digital solutions to global markets," he said.
Ambani said Jio, a part of Reliance, was committed making India the largest data-powered economy in the world, beating China and the United States.
Jio 5G will be the world's largest and most advanced 5G network. Mostoperators are deploying a version of 5G, called Non-Standalone 5G, which is essentially a 5G radio signal delivered over an existing 4G infrastructure. This Non-Standalone approach is a hasty way to nominally claim a 5G launch, but it won't deliver the breakthrough improvements in performance and capability possible with 5G.
"In sharp contrast, Jio will deploy the latest version of 5G, called Stand-Alone 5G, which has zero dependency on our 4G network. With Stand-Alone 5G, Jio can deliver new and powerful services such as low latency connectivity, massive machine-to-machine communication, 5G voice, Edge computing and network slicing, and metaverse.
"At the recent auction conducted by the Department of Telecommunications, we have acquired the largest and the most appropriate mix of wireless spectrum for 5G. This gives Jio 5G a distinct competitive advantage over other operators," he said.
He said that, to build its pan-India True 5G network, Jio had committed a total investment of Rs 2 lakh crore.
Ambani said Jio has some of the world's leading technology players as partners in its "Made in India" 5G, including Meta for bringing the benefits of immersive technology to everyone. With Google, it is developing ultra-affordable 5G smartphones for India. It will also leverage the advanced capabilities of Google Cloud to offer Jio's Private 5G stack and other 5G-enabled solutions to both domestic and global users at scale.
Jio is partnering with Microsoft to expand the Azure ecosystem in India, and to develop a vibrant ecosystem of cloudenabled business applications and solutions, especially for small and medium businesses. It is working with Intel on technologies used in Jio's cloud-scale data centres and 5G Edge locations, as well as in infrastructure for cutting-edge applications like Artificial Intelligence.
"And we have well-established relationships with leading global network technology providers such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Cisco.
"Today, I am pleased to announce one more exciting partnership with Qualcomm, which is not only a global semiconductor and communications technology major but also one of the valued investors of Jio Platforms," he said.
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