Everybody is talking about Reliance Jio. Just a few months ago, Reliance launched its 4G services exclusively for its employees under a brand called “Jio”. With blazing internet speeds that the Jio offered, it created a sensation. To attract more customers and widen user base, Reliance as part of its marketing strategy, offered free high-speed internet in select stadiums during the T20 World Cup matches earlier this year.
With the Reliance Jio Preview Offer, Reliance has struck the right cord with the large mobile data customer base in India. Reliance Jio offers HD voice calling with VoLTE (Voice over LTE) support and super-fast internet connectivity. Reliance is also trying to differentiate itself from a host of 4G plans and services being offered by several telecom operators in India. As a differentiating factor, it recently released an app, called Jio Play, that allows you to listen to music, watch on-demand movies, music videos and get access to Hotstar premium content.
With so many announcements and so many offers, people are desperately waiting for the commercial launch of Jio in India. However, as reported by ibtimes, no confirmation has been provided by Reliance regarding when the service would be launched. All we now know is that the service will be launched in the second half of 2016. It’s September already and we still don’t hear anything about the official launch of Jio. Even though Reliance hasn’t started rolling out the services commercially, you can enjoy Jio offers by getting a new SIM card for free either by purchasing LYF-branded smartphones or by downloading Jio app on flagship Samsung phones.
Financial Express reported that in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio said that operators must extend necessary points of interconnect to ensure calls are completed to all destinations. The company added-
“Without expediting the requisite points of interconnect augmentation, this situation will only get worse. Therefore, Reliance Jio’s demand for additional points of interconnect is critical for its continued test trial and launch of commercial operations. Such unequivocal denial to provide points of interconnect for interconnection to Reliance Jio is in blatant breach of the licence agreement. The licence agreement provides in very clear terms the obligation of the licensee to provide interconnection facilities to other licensees.”
Looks like the delay is because of unavailability of points of interconnect. Reliance is requesting the operators to offer the necessary support with required points of interconnect with sufficient capacity and numbers so that call drops can be reduced. If this goes as planned, the launch may happen very soon!
If you already own a Reliance Jio SIM, share your experiences in the comments section.