R-JIO AND ITS IMPACT IN INDIA

Alright guys, so today I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), aka Jio 4G, the ‘badass’ new operator which caused ripples in the Indian Telecommunications space.

The main reason why Jio gained a lot of popularity and amassed a record 50 million customers in just 83 days is due to its free offer – 1GB high speed LTE data post unlimited @128kbps per day + unlimited LTE (2-5am), plus unlimited local/STD calling and free SMS and no roaming charges – One India under the Jio Happy New Year Offer. This is a one of its kind plan and the first in India. The free usage lasts till 31st March 2017. Even after the JHNY offer ceases, voice calls, SMS and national roaming is completely free, you just need to have a data plan active. This is once again a first in India.

The most important feature of Jio is that – it is a pure 4G LTE network, it offers its services via 4G only, with no legacy back-haul of 2G/3G network. It is the first network in India to offer VoLTE (Voice Over Long Term Evolution) HD calling. It means instead of the traditional voice calls, voice is converted into to data and then a call is made possible, similar to how VoIP calls work.

Jio is not only a service provider, but a digital provider. They have a wide plethora of apps like:

• MyJio – Manage Jio Account and Digital Services associated with it
• JioTV – A live TV channel service with content playback
• JioCinema – An online HD video library
• JioChat Messenger – An instant messaging app
• JioMusic – A music streaming/download service
• Jio4GVoice (earlier JioJoin) – A VoLTE phone simulator
• JioMags – E-reader for magazines
• JioXpressNews – A news and magazine aggregator
• JioSecurity – Security app
• JioDrive – Cloud-based backup tool
• JioMoney Wallet – An online payments/wallet app
• JioSwitch – Transfer content

I will have a detailed review about the apps later (perhaps)

SPECTRUM HOLDINGS

Jio has a large spectrum holding across various bands. It has a tri-band 4G network across 850MHz (Band 5), 1800MHz (Band 3), 2300MHz (Band40). It has Band 40 on a Pan India basis and Band 3 in almost all circles. Jio has also entered into spectrum sharing pact with Reliance Communications (RCOM) for the use of 850Mhz across India.

Now in layman terms – 850MHz offers best penetration but has lesser bandwidth whereas 2300MHz has high bandwidth and poor penetration. 1800MHz is decently balanced and is more popular with most devices supporting this band globally.

• Band 5 – Excellent penetration, less bandwidth
• Band 3 – Moderate penetration, moderate bandwidth
• Band 40 –  Poor penetration, high bandwidth

Jio has also deployed Carrier Aggregation aka LTE+ in some circles, combining Band 3 and Band 5. Carrier Aggregation means combining 2 or more bands to provide better speeds.

COVERAGE

Despite being a new entrant, Jio has a strong presence in both rural and urban areas. According to a recent survey by Credit Suisse, Jio has a 80% coverage on a Pan India scale. The agency said that it studied 2G, 3G and 4G coverage of telecom operators in 30 cities of India, out of which Jio fared well in 80% of cities. Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular had good coverage in 10–30% of the cities.

Even in my personal experience, Jio has truly surprised me with its wide reach. I was able to get Jio in rural areas – the only 4G network present along with 2G/3G service by BSNL and Idea.

They also have the largest 4G network in India – matching the incumbent operators on their 2G coverage in many places. They are still rapidly expanding their coverage. It has also come to my notice that Jio has easily surpassed operators like TATA DOCOMO coverage wise despite the latter being in the field for almost a decade has patchy coverage.

Jio also has an ICR deal with BSNL to offer 2G fall back to Jio customers where Jio has no service. However, that pact is not active as of now. My guess is that this deal will go live once the free offer ends.

SPEED

And now, ah, to the most important part, speed.

I have mixed reactions to the speeds offered by Jio. Speed varies greatly depending on the place and time. At my home, I’m always getting a 20 Mbps+ on Band 40 and an average of 9-11 Mbps on Band 3 + 5. Now this might be considered slow for a 4G network but I must say that this is pretty impressive for a network which is under huge load and 100% saturation. Of course there have been brief times when the network has been unresponsive but that can be attributed to the above reason. After all, its free, so I wont complain ;)

In my hostel, I get around 14 Mbps on Band 40 and 2-3 Mbps on Band 3 + 5. Also take into consideration that around 2250 people exploit the network and a just couple of towers/BTS handle this massive load.So this is truly a feat, since earlier 85% of load was handled by Idea’s 3G network – and there were frequent network outages, call drops and no response

The above are the speeds I get these days. I have been a beta tester, so I had early access to the Jio network. During those times, I used to get a massive 60+ Mbps on Band 40, 16+ Mbps on Band 3 and around 10 Mbps on Band 5 (those days LTE+ was not deployed). So my guess is that once the freeloading ends, the network would be great and stable as it used to be.

IMPACT ON COMPETITION

Jio has caused a dent on the revenues of other operators – forcing them to reduce the rates and invest more aggressively. It is all thanks to Jio that other incumbent operators such as Idea, Vodafone and Airtel are heavily investing and expanding in 4G. But still they have not reached that level of Jio ;)

I still remember paying Rs. 251 (~$4) for 1GB 3G from Idea a few months back. Now as a special offer, I’m offered 10GB of 4G data at the same rate. This has happened only because of Jio. Jio has made other operators pace up in expansion and reducing the rates. In the end, it is a win win situation for the customers – they get good service at decent rates.

Jio’s entry has also started a series of consolidation – small players such as RCOM and Aircel are ready to be merged and they are awaiting the order from courts. Even incumbents Idea and Vodafone are in talks for a merger. Operators such as Docomo and Telenor have been hit hard after Jio due to its free calling – the only strength of these operators.

CONTROVERSIES

In the early days of Jio (Sep 2016), Incumbent operators did not provide sufficient Interconnect points (PoI) which is required for calls to other networks. This resulted in massive call failures, over 80% of calls from Jio to incumbent networks failed. Incumbents blamed Jio for “massive asymmetric tsunami of calls” on their networks, choking it. Finally Jio took the case to court and TRAI slapped a penalty of Rs 3050 crore on the  incumbent operators. During December, the issue was nearly solved with only a 10-15% calls failing.

CONCLUSION

Reliance Jio has managed to acquire 94% mobile data traffic share in India, driven by its free data services since its commercial launch in September last year, a Credit Suisse note said. Jio’s 4G speed trails behind its competitor Airtel with below 8 Mbps. Airtel led the pack with over 12 Mbps, followed by Idea at over 8 Mbps. Credit Suisse also said that India’s top telecom operators Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have 2% share each.

To all those hitting at Jio for poor speed and coverage, I’d say give them their chance. They are barely a few months old and have done great so far. The amount of load handled by their network is tremendous.

Now in comparison to other networks, Jio might be slower in some areas, but then always keep in mind Jio runs on full load whereas other networks have very little load on them, thus delivering faster speeds and performance.

Once the freeloading ends in March, the network will be pretty stable. And above all, it's a free service. So let's wait and watch.