Reliance Jio’s JioFiber broadband service for homes will likely be launched around Diwali, and the company plans to offer data at rates that could disrupt the home broadband market. According to a report in Economic Times, Reliance Jio’s home broadband service will start in Diwali and the company could offer 100GB data at just Rs 500.
The Economic Times report is quoting people who are familiar with Jio’s plans. However, this is not the first report that has said the JioFiber service is coming soon. Earlier reports had pegged June as the month for the commercial launch of JioFiber Home broadband services. In May, Reliance Jio’s official Twitter handle had tweeted saying the JioFiber Preview Offer is currently being offered on a trial basis in some cities.
Reliance Jio’s Twitter handle had tweeted this out, “The JioFiber Preview Offer has currently being launched in select areas of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Surat and Vadodara. Our network is in the process of being rolled out to other cities.”
In September last year there were reports of JioFiber being tested out with 100Mbps speeds in some cities. JioFiber has already been testing out its services in Chennai, Mumbai. However, one of the challenges for the JioFiber network has been getting permission to enter gated colonies.
While the exact launch date for JioFiber remains unknown, there’s no doubt the company is going to go for the disruptive pricing model, just like it did with the Jio mobile network.
To compare, rivals like Airtel currently are offering customers 1000GB data free for a whole year if they sign up for the broadband service via online.
Airtel is currently offering customers 60 GB data for Rs 899, though with the bonus data this is extended to 750 GB data free for a period of one year. Airtel’s Rs 1099 plan, which has 40Mbps speed offers 90 GB data per month, with 1000 GB data free for one year. Airtel’s Rs 1,299 plan is the one that offers 100 Mbps speeds, with 125 GB data per month, and 1000 GB data free for the period of one year.
However the free data offer is limited only to the NCR region. Other broadband providers like ACT have started offering 1GB per second internet speeds in the city of Hyderabad with 1TB download limit at a rental price of Rs 5,999. ACT has also expanded operations to Delhi and is offering 100 Mbps speeds.
But if JioFiber launches 100GB data at Rs 500 for fixed lines at home, it could cause new disruption in the market. We’ll have to wait and see if the Diwali launch timeline turns out to be true.
