Jio, also known as Reliance Jio, is a Mumbai-based provider of 4G internet, mobi

le telephony, broadband services, and digital services in India. Formerly known

as Infotel Broadband Services Limited, Jio provides 4G services on a pan-India l
evel using LTE technology.[2][3] The telecom leg of Reliance Industries Limited,
it was incorporated in 2007.
The services were beta-launched to Jio's partners and employees on 27 December,
2015 on the eve of 83rd birth anniversary of late Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of R
eliance Industries.[4][5] On September 5, 2016, Jio commercially launched its 4G
services.
Contents [hide]
1
History
2
Development
2.1
Beta Launch
2.2
Commercial launch
3
Operations
3.1
Issue with incumbents
4
Products and Services
4.1
Reliance Jio 4G Broadband
4.1.1 Pan-India Spectrum
4.2
LYF Smartphones
4.3
Jionet WiFi
4.4
Jio apps
5
Branding and Marketing
6
See also
7
References
8
External links
History
In June 2010, Reliance Industries (RIL) bought a 96% stake in Infotel Broadband
Services Limited (IBSL) for Rs 4,800cr. Although unlisted, IBSL was the only fir
m to win broadband spectrum in all 22 zones in India in the 4G auction that took
place earlier that year.[6] Later continuing as RIL's telecom subsidiary, Infot
el Broadband Services Limited was renamed as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL
) in January 2013.[7]
Development
In June 2015, Jio announced that it will start its operations all over the count
ry by the end of 2015.[8] However, four months later in October 2015, the compan
y's spokesmen sent out a press release stating that the launch was postponed to
the first quarter of the financial year 2016-2017.[9]
Later in July, a PIL filed in the Supreme Court by an NGO called the Centre for
Public Interest Litigation, through Prashant Bhushan, challenged the grant of pa
n-India licence to Jio by the Government of India. The PIL also alleged that Jio
was allowed to provide voice telephony along with its 4G data service, by payin
g an additional fees of just ?165.8 crore (US$25 million) which was arbitrary an
d unreasonable, and contributed to a loss of ?2,284.2 crore (US$340 million) to
the exchequer.[10][11]
The Indian Department of Telecom (DoT), however, refuted all of CAG's claims. In
its statement, DoT explained that the rules for 3G and BWA spectrum didn't rest
rict BWA winners from providing voice telephony. As a result, the PIL was revoke
d, and the accusations were dismissed.[12]
Beta Launch
The 4G services were launched internally to Jio's partners, its staff and their
families on 27 December 2015. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the br
and ambassador of Jio, kickstarted the launch event which took place in Reliance
Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai, along with celebrities like musician A R Rahman,

actors Ranbir Kapoor and Javed Jaffrey, and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.[13] The
closed event was witnessed by more than 35000 RIL employees some of whom were vi
rtually connected from around 1000 locations including Dallas in the US.[14][15]
[16]
Commercial launch
The company commercially launched its services on 5 September 2016.[4]
Operations
Issue with incumbents
In September, 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) summoned Ji
o and the country's existing telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and
Idea Cellular to meet and discuss an issue regarding interconnection between th
e operators. This was a result after Jio complained to TRAI and Department of Te
lecom (DoT) about other operators not honoring their commercial agreements to le
t Jio use their network resources. The company further added that the operators
are trying to sabotage its entry into the telecom scene. However, DoT dismissed
the request and directed TRAI to help settle the dispute amicably. Moreover, the
Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) requested TRAI to include all th
e operators in the discussion instead of the three.[17]
The incumbent operators had previously approached the country's PMO to reiterate
their stance they "are in no way obliged or in any position to entertain Jio's
requests for interconnection points as they do not have either the network or th
e financial resources to terminate the latter's humongous volumes of potentially
asymmetric voice traffic." Responding to this, Mukesh Ambani, owner of Jio, sai
d, "All operators have publicly said last week that they will provide this (inte
rconnect and MNP). So, we are waiting. These are all great companies. They have
their own reputations to protect. I am confident they won't violate the law." Co
mmenting about number portability, he added, "The number belongs to the consumer
. No operator can cause trouble if they want to change operators."[18]
Products and Services
Reliance Jio 4G Broadband
The company will launch its 4G broadband services throughout India in the first
quarter of 2016-2017 financial year.[19] It was slated to release in December 20
15 after some reports said that the company was waiting to receive final permits
from the government.[20] Mukesh Ambani, owner of Reliance Industries Limited (R
IL) whose Reliance Jio is the telecom subsidiary, had unveiled details of Jio's
fourth-generation (4G) services on 12 June 2015 at RIL's 41st annual general mee
ting. It will offer data and voice services with peripheral services like instan
t messaging, live TV, movies on demand, news, streaming music, and a digital pay
ments platform.[21]
The company has a network of more than 250,000 km of fiber optic cables in the c
ountry, over which it will be partnering with local cable operators to get broad
er connectivity for its broadband services.[22] With its multi-service operator
(MSO) licence, Jio will also serve as a TV channel distributor and will offer te
levision-on-demand on its network.
Pan-India Spectrum
Jio owns spectrum in 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands in 10 and 6 circles, respective
ly, of the total 22 circles in the country, and also owns pan-India licensed 2,3
00 MHz spectrum. The spectrum is valid till 2035.[23] Ahead of its digital servi
ces launch, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio entered into a spectrum sharing deal
with younger brother Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Communications. The sharing dea
l is for 800 MHz band across seven circles other than the 10 circles for which J
io already owns.[24]
LYF Smartphones

Main article: LYF

In June 2015, Jio tied up with domestic handset maker Intex to supply 4G handset
s enabled with voice over LTE (VoLTE) feature. Through this, it plans to offer 4
G voice calling besides rolling out high-speed Internet services using a fiber n
etwork,[25] in addition to the 4G wireless network.[26] However, in October 2015
, Jio announced that it would be launching its own mobile handset brand named LY
F.[27][28][29]
On 25 January 2016, the company launched its LYF smart