Reliance Jio, a prominent player in India’s telecom market, is poised to introduce its Jio AirFiber fixed wireless access (FWA) device offering to consumers in the upcoming festive quarter. Industry experts and analysts suggest that this move could come with an attractive up to 20% discount compared to existing market options.
This marks Jio’s first foremost undertaking to capitalize at the potential of 5G generation, following its earlier creation of facts pinnacle-up packs in advance this 12 months.
Insiders familiar with the matter anticipate that the official announcement could coincide with the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM). It’s well worth noting that Jio has a culture of launching new products with compelling gives, and this situation may be no distinct.
As of now, Jio has not provided any official response to inquiries related to this matter from ET (The Inquisitive Meeple) at the time of press.
Reportedly, Jio has initiated consumer trials across cities where its 5G network rollout has been successfully completed and stabilized. Additionally, the employer has distributed gadgets to selected customers, along with its very own employees, for actual-international testing in home environments, all in education for the imminent release.
Jio’s FWA device will utilize carrier aggregation technology, which involves creating a “data pathway” by utilizing various 5G airwaves – specifically the 700 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26GHz spectrums – that the company acquired in a telecom auction last year.
In recent weeks, rival telecom company Bharti Airtel introduced its FWA offering, the Xstream AirFiber, in two major Indian cities – Mumbai and Delhi. This device is priced at Rs 2500, accompanied by a monthly subscription fee of Rs 799. Notably, Airtel’s subscription model currently only offers six-month blocks, resulting in an initial investment of nearly Rs 7300.
Given the aggressive landscape, analysts speculate that Jio would possibly strategically opt for competitive pricing thru discounted gadgets or maybe through presenting a free trial length. This method can be geared toward hard the existing six-month commitment model related to Airtel’s supplying.
Earlier this month, Jio unveiled its FWA device for enterprise connectivity, leveraging the 26 GHz frequency band that the company acquired through a 5G spectrum auction in July 2022.
While Jio has been discussing its plans for an FWA offering targeted at retail consumers for nearly a year, the initial mention was made during the annual general meeting of its parent company, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in August of the previous year. Following this, the device has been showcased at enterprise occasions, and the corporation’s control has indicated its approaching launch throughout earnings calls.
During a recent earnings call, Kiran Thomas, President of RIL, expressed the belief that the FWA offering would significantly contribute to Jio’s home broadband business, ultimately connecting around 100 million premises.
On a global scale, Swedish telecom infrastructure provider Ericsson reported approximately 100 million FWA connections in 2022. Projections indicate that this number could reach 300 million by the close of 2028, with 80% of these connections harnessing 5G technology.
With its excessive data intake patterns and large geographical landscape, India is diagnosed as a pivotal market for driving the adoption of FWA era.
