Ambani: Jio 5G to Launch in India by the Second Half of 2021

Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani has said that Jio 5G will begin rolling out in India during the second half of 2021. He gave out the information during his keynote address at the India Mobile Congress 2020 on Tuesday, December 8. 

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He added that the Jio 5G service will serve as “testimony” to the Central Government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat policy which aims to make India self-reliant. “I assure you that Jio will pioneer the 5G revolution in India in the second half of 2021. It will be powered by indigenous-developed network, hardware and technology components,” Ambani said.

In addition to the 5G network upgrades in India, Jio is also said to be working on a low-cost Android phone in partnership with Google. Though there’s no concrete timeline for the arrival of this phone, it is said that it could arrive within the next few months.

Jio will have a significant advantage in bringing 5G networks to India thanks to its nationwide LTE-exclusive network. This, in turn, will help Jio switch to the next-gen cellular signals at a reduced time as compared to telecom operators like Airtel or Vi (formerly Vodafone and Idea).

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Jio has made tremendous inroads in the telecom sector since its formal arrival in the telecommunications sector in late 2015. Since then, the network operator has worked with companies like Qualcomm and Samsung to further its 5G goals in India. Back in July this year, Ambani said at the 43rd of Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries in July that Jio will start testing 5G networks in India as soon as the spectrum was made available.

Recently, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries known as Jio Platforms received investments from big names like Google, Facebook, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Silver Lake Partners, and a few others. Overall, Jio Platforms raised ₹1,52,056 crores by giving up 32.97% stake. 

Separately, with a market share of 35% in the Indian telecom space, Jio is well-positioned to bring 5G to the masses in the country. However, the company has also stressed on bringing faster internet connectivity to rural areas that still struggle to get decent internet speeds on their phones.

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