Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will formally launch the Jio 4G service from September 1. However, it seems to be a sort of soft launch and the service will still be offered only on trail basis, possibly similar to how it has been done until now with the Jio Preview Offer.
The announcement is likely to be made by RIL Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai. The announcement will detail how Jio plans to offer the commercial services, what could be the possible data charges and the how the VoLTE will work. The company is likely emphasise the VoLTE aspect of the Jio. This technology will allow Jio users to make calls using data service, even to the regular numbers on the network owned by other telecom users.
The report of Jio's launch first appeared on TechPP but we have independently confirmed that the big announcement is coming on September 1.
Due to the nature of VoLTE calls, Jio is likely to position it as a free calls feature, where the only charges a user will pay will be in the form of data charges, which are likely to be fraction of the price that users pay for regular calls.
The IndiaToday.In Tech has learned that commercial Jio plans will not be announced tomorrow. Instead, it will mark the opening of the trial to all consumers who have a compatible 4G phone. This trial period is likely to be from September to January.
The announcement is likely to create big shockwaves in the Indian telecom industry. Jio, which is a challenger, is hoping to earn money only through the data services, a big change compared to the market strategy of the existing telecom operators that continue to rely on revenue from regular calls.
For a few months now, Jio is rolling out its service to more and more people as part of its Preview programme. Initially, it was rolled out to RIL employees. Later a free Jio SIM was bundled with Lyf phones, a programme that was gradually extended to 4G phones made by other phone makers, Currently, the free Jio SIM is officially available to 4G phones of 19 brands. Each SIM comes with a 90-days preview offer which gives consumers access to unlimited 4G data and VoLTE calls for 90 days.
Along with the data services, Jio has also come out with a number of apps, including messaging and multimedia apps, which it plans to bundle with the Jio connections.
Apart from the SIM cards and Lyf phones, the company will also sell a JioFi devices, a sort of Wi-Fi router with Jio SIM inside through which consumers will be able to connect their laptops and computers to the Jio network.
