Reliance Jio AirFiber launched; plans start at ₹599

Eyeing to cover the untapped home segment, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has launched Jio AirFiber Services across eight cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune on Ganesh Chaturthi. The integrated internet solution promises high-speed internet, better connectivity, and a digital experience. Jio AirFiber will use Jio's pan-India 5G network and wireless technologies to bypass the need for last-mile fibre.

The integrated end-to-end service will provide solutions for home entertainment, smart home services, and high-speed broadband, says Jio. The Jio AirFiber plans start at ₹599 for 30 Mbps internet speed and will go up to ₹1,199 for 100 Mbps data speed. The AirFiber Max plan starts from ₹1,499 for 300 Mbps speed; ₹2,499 for 500 Mbps speed; and ₹3,999 for 1,000 Mbps speed.

Reliance Jio says its optical fiber infrastructure spans over 1.5 million kilometers across India, putting it in close proximity to over 200 million premises.

"Yet, providing physical last-mile connectivity often ends up taking a lot of time in most parts of our country. This leaves millions of potential customers without home broadband, due to the complexities and delays involved in extending optical fiber to their premises."

The launch of JioAirFiber is intended to address this problem while accelerating connectivity. Akash Ambani, chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm, says Jio's fiber-to-the-home service, JioFiber, already serves over 10 million customers. "But there are still millions of homes and small businesses to be connected at a rapid pace. With JioAirFiber, we are expanding our addressable market."

Apart from high-speed internet, the JioAirFiber plans also include digital TV comprising 550+ channels and free OTT services, including 14 apps plus popular apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and JioCinema Premium.

The Jio AirFiber broadband service also promises connectivity to cloud PCs, security and surveillance, healthcare, education, gaming, smart home IoT, and home networking. Like JioFiber, the JioAirFiber plans also include a WiFi router, 4k smart set-top box, and voice-active remote.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, had recorded net profit of ₹4,863 crore for the June quarter, recording a growth of 12% year-on-year (YoY) as against ₹4,335 crore reported in the same period last year. In Q1 of FY24, its revenue grew 10% YoY to ₹24,042 crore against ₹21,873 crore in the same period last year.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani at RIL's 46th annual general meeting (AGM) on August 28, 2023, had announced the launch of Jio AirFiber on Ganesh Chaturthi. Ambani said RIL has invested $150 billion in the last 10 years, higher than any corporate in India.

Jio says its customer base has risen to 450 million subscribers, with users consuming 25GB of data every month, and that Jio 5G is already present in 92% of India's census towns.