Reliance Jio has been eyeing the lucrative FTTH market in India for some time now, after a disruptive entrance in the 4G mobile data market. Compared to mobile data, the broadband market has huge potential with a considerable chunk of the Indian population relying on mobile data and awareness of technology growing day by day.
Now, JioFiber, the name of the FTTH service of Reliance, is now getting a full-blown commercial release around Diwali. This has long been coming as the JioFiber preview offer, as it is called has already started operating in major cities in India like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. The company also plans to extend the JioFiber preview to other major cities in June before an imminent commercial launch.
The JioFiber preview comes with free high-speed internet for three months. Although an expected upfront payment of ₹4,500 has to be made. This payment is supposed to be refundable refundable. According to sources Jio broadband subscribers will get a JioMedia share device, a smart set-top box, routers and Power Line Communication devices along with the connection. Reliance will also include HD TV, Video on Demand and JioCloud to go with these devices.
Reliance Jio also plans to launch a host of other products with the FTTH services like the home automation technology which will make use of Smart-Plugs to control electrical appliances remotely. Furthermore, the company is expected to launch some smart security products like a smart camera, smart doorbell, smart lock and chime alarm all controlled through the smartphone.
The lowest base plan is said to start at ₹500 for a 100 GB of data. This is definitely bad news for the likes of Bharti-Airtel and the dominant player BSNL who charge almost double for even less amount of data. As analysts expect, the extremely competitive pricing will force another price war similar to the one in the mobile data segment.
