Reliance Jio to be launched via over 1,000 Jio Centers

India's Reliance Industries Ltd will launch its ambitious 4G telecoms venture in December through a direct physical presence in over 1,000 "Jio Centers" and will also sell self-branded devices under its retail unit, the company disclosed in a post earnings presentation on Saturday.

The energy conglomerate run by the country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, re-entered the telecoms sector in 2010 and has already invested over $15 billion in building the country's largest 4G broadband network, with commercial operations expected to start in December.

The company will start "extensive" beta tests across the country in the next few weeks to test its network, joint chief financial officer V. Srikanth told reporters on Friday, after the company posted estimate-topping first quarter profit boosted by its highest gross refining margin in six years.

Reliance will use a two-pronged strategy for ensuring device availability, using open market as well as self-branded devices under its retail unit's electronics arm, Reliance Digital.

"Reliance Digital would be a catalyst by making available entry level to ultra premium 4G LTE smartphones... in driving the device ecosystem in India for Jio," the company said.

The much-delayed launch and investment in the venture has drawn criticism, but Ambani allayed some concerns when he told shareholders in June that the Jio network will roll out with coverage to about 80 percent of the country's population.

Apart from the 1,000 'Jio Centers,' the company will have 500,000 connectivity outlets and 1 million additional recharge outlets at launch, the company's presentation said.

It has also engaged with global smartphone brands including Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi

to ensure availability of 4G devices and pocket routers across price ranges, the company said.

Reuters had reported in May that the company was in talks with Chinese manufacturers to secure cut-price devices that could be bundled with its network and sold in packages at prices as low as $30.

Source: ET

RJio raises $750-mn loan to buy gears for 4G rollout

Telecom arm of RIL, Reliance Jio Infocomm on Wednesday said it has raised a $750 million (nearly Rs 4,500 crore) loan that will be used to finance goods and services from Samsung Electronics and Ace Technologies Corp, which are being tapped for its infrastructure rollout.

"Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited... has signed a $750 million loan backed by Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) on May 7, 2015. The loan is guaranteed by RIL and will be primarily used to finance goods and services procured from Samsung Electronics and Ace Technologies Corp, which are being sourced for the infrastructure rollout of RJIL," RJio said in a statement.

The loan has 12 years of repayment time. This is the first facility by K-sure with RJio and its largest deal in India, but is the second facility by K-sure with the Reliance Group -- including RIL and RJio -- the statement said.

This marks the second round of financing for RJio from Korean export credit agencies (ECAs) and the third overall between the group and Korean ECAs in three years, highlighting growing business with Korean organisations.The facility is funded by nine relationship banks of Reliance, including The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Banco Santander SA, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, JPMorgan Chase NA, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ING Bank and DZ Bank AG.

Source:Business Today

Switzerland considers raising exposure standards in line with Europe

The Federal Council of Switzerland will consider a report that recommends raising the country’s restrictive mobile phone network exposure limits in line with the guidelines recommended by the , as politicians explore measures to meet increased network demands.

The Future-oriented mobile telephony networks (in French) report, produced by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications, recognises that mobile data usage in Switzerland has increased and that network operators need more capacity to meet the demand.

“The ever-increasing use of mobile data means that mobile phone networks need continuous upgrades,” the report said.

While the report suggests that this could be achieved by making additional frequencies available for telecommunications or by building more antennas, it warns that both options would be expensive.

“The current situation requires more antennas to be built, increasing the cost of the network,” the report said.

A more economical option suggested by the report would be to increase the exposure levels in line with those recommended by Switzerland’s European neighbours, and set by the World Health Organization.

“Easing the limit values imposed by the ONIR [Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation] would make it possible to make better use of existing sites and to appreciably reduce future requirements for new antenna sites. However, these measures would result in an increase in the radiation around base stations,” wrote the Swiss Federal Office of Communications on their website.

Switzerland has some of the most restrictive exposure limits in Europe, although nominally based on the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which form the basis of most countries’ exposure limits, they include additional arbitrary restrictions around ‘sensitive spaces’ such as schools, hospitals and other areas where people remain in one place for extended periods of time.

In practice this means that mobile phone base stations are restricted in the very areas where demand is highest. According to the report, over a third of Swiss base stations are at their artificially imposed capacity and cannot be increased under the current limits set by the Ordinance on protection from non-ionising radiation (ONIR).

The report will serve as a basis for the parliamentary debate to determine whether amendments to the ONIR are appropriate as a means of ensuring the viability of Switzerland’s mobile phone network.

A separate report (.pdf in German), recently commissioned by the association of Swiss network operators, found that Swiss mobile communications is burdened by overly strict environmental exposure limits that hinder network deployment and detract from mobile phone services.

Furthermore a PwC report from 2013 found that compliance with Switzerland’s strict exposure limits for mobile phone base station signals costs Swiss network operators up to 35 per cent more to operate the mobile network than in neighbouring countries and could see costs quadruple in less than four years.

Source: GSMA.com

Reliance Jio to launch Wi-Fi services

Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL), a subsidiary of RIL, in the process of entering into agreements with various State and local authorities to launch Wi-Fi services.

Reliance Jio has already launched trial Wi-Fi hot spots across India.

The Mukesh Ambani-promoted telecom venture has exhibited trial 4G services at various Techfest, College events, Trade shows etc. and has offered high-speed Wi-Fi broadband services to various participants. Participants were able to experience benefit of high speed wireless connectivity for hand held devices (smart phones and tablets) over a blend of LTE and Wi-Fi networks.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, while announcing the quarterly result of RIL, did not share specific details about the launch of 4G services in India.

RJIL has Broadband Wireless Access spectrum in all the 22 telecom circles of India. In addition, RJIL has in 2014 acquired spectrum in 1800 MHz in 14 circles across India. In March 2015, RJIL acquired the right to use spectrum in 800 MHz & 1800 MHz in 13 key circles across India.

This means, Reliance Jio has 2300 MHz spectrum and spectrum in either 800 MHz or 1800 MHz or both in 20 out of the total of 22 circles in the country. RJIL’s total equivalent spectrum footprint has increased from 597.6MHz to 751.1MHz (including uplink and downlink), strengthening its position as the largest holder of liberalized spectrum.

RJIL plans to provide 4G services using LTE in 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2300MHz bands through an integrated ecosystem.

The company claims that RJIL has made progress in building its LTE business, including physical network infrastructure, systems and processes, sales and distribution network, applications and services, content etc. It is working with strategic partners who have committed significant resources, knowhow and global talent to support deployment and testing activities currently underway.

Source: Telecom Lead

GSM mobile operators add 81.9 lk subscribers in March: COAI

The GSM cellular subscribers' base rose by 1.17 percent in March to reach 70.52 crore with mobile operators adding 81.9 lakh users during the month, industry body COAI said on Wednesday. "All India GSM cellular subscriber figures as of March stood at 70.52 crore. The GSM subscribers increased by 81.9 lakh in March, a 1.17 percent increase from previous month," Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said. The GSM subscriber base stood at 69.70 crore at the end of February. COAI, which represents telecom players like Bharti Airtel  , Vodafone, Idea Cellular   and Aircel said the data does not include GSM subscriber number of Reliance Communications   and Tata Teleservices . It has also stopped reporting the GSM numbers of state-run BSNL. Reliance Jio Infocomm had also joined the body but the company is yet to start telecom services. Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel added 28.97 lakh subscribers to take its overall base to 22.60 crore during the month. Idea Cellular added 23.54 lakh users and its base stood at 15.78 crore whereas Vodafone added 13.58 lakh subscribers to take its base to 18.38 crore at the end of March. Aircel added 8.64 lakh subscribers and its base increased to 8.13 crore while Uninor also added 4.63 lakh users to take its base to 4.56 crore at the end of reported period. State-run MTNL   added 19,353 subscribers and its base has increased to 34.23 lakh. Videocon also added 2.30 lakh users to take its base to 71.33 lakh.

Source: Moneycontrol

Reliance Jio Chat equals WhatsApp, but offers more: Citi Research

Jio Chat, the voice-cum-messaging app launched by the broadband arm of Reliance Industries, not only offers more features than similar apps like WhatsApp, but also reflects on where the group intends to do in the 4G telecom space, says a study.

"After limited 4G launch in Gujarat, Kolkata and Mumbai, Reliance Jio has launched a voice-messaging app similar to WhatsApp with some incremental features including content, entertainment, e-commerce," said Citi Research in a report "JioChat Equals WhatsApp Plus More."

"We keenly await trends on-user traction - WhatsApp already has a strong network effect," it said in the comparative analysis. "The app highlights Jio's intention to eventually become a single platform for users - voice, messaging, entertainment and e-commerce."

The Jio Chat description in Google Play Store says it connects for free across any mobile data connection or WiFi, "no matter where in the world you are". Features include voice, video, messaging, conferencing, doodles and emoticons, as also location-and status-sharing.

The Citi Research report said that the app offers 100 free SMSes per month, which would be useful and applicable in case either the sender or the recipient's data network at the time of sending the message is unavailable.

"This is unlike WhatsApp where messages sent through remain in the network in case of data issues and sent or received once data network is available," it said, adding while call quality was good, with no drops even with 3G, this was more a reflection on the network.

Out of 150 million smart phone owners in India, 80 million are on WhatsApp, said the study.

"So why launch now? We believe this should be seen more as soft launch to modify any aspect based on user feedback before the commercial LTE (4G services) launch, expected in in the fourth quarter of 2015," it said.

In the recently-concluded telecom spectrum auction, Reliance Jio acquired the rights in 13 key circles across India. With this, the company said it has airwaves in either 800 MHz or 1,800MHz bands, or both, in 20 out of a total of 22 circles in the country.

The company is setting up a pan-India 4G network to provide high-speed net connectivity, communication services and various other digital offerings in domains like education, healthcare, security, government-citizen interface and entertainment.

Source: ET

Reliance Jio launches messaging, calling app Jio Chat

Reliance Jio Infocomm has launched its first product, a messaging app called Jio Chat for iOS and Android cell phones, and is lining up more ancillary offerings as the Mukesh Ambaniowned company prepares to roll out its high-speed network, widely expected later this year. The company has so far invested more than Rs 70,000 crore in its yet-to-belaunched fourth-generation communication services. Following Jio Chat closely will be health-monitoring and television channels applications. Thereafter, the company is looking at one app each on finance and ecommerce, a person familiar with the matter told ET.

"Jio is hoping that the experience of using these services will differentiate its 4G service from rival networks," he said. The proposed television app, called Jio Play, will offer all television channels on air, and a latent recording of seven days: users can rewind to any programme up to a week old.

Launching the apps across platforms and operators will help test systems, said the person. This way users could experience the speed difference between the existing, mostly 2G and 3G, networks and 4G when Jio rolls out the service.

The chat application, which also offers voice and video calling facilities, works across operators, but will come preloaded with Jio connections once the service is launched, he said. The health application it proposes to launch has a step counter and a page to input weight goals, track diet and manage healthcare, like medicine administration warnings. "We see this (Jio Chat) launch as the initial step in building the brand around Jio, and expect some more products in the coming months (co-branded handsets, online music stores, branded Wi-Fi hotspots, etc.) before the actual 4G launch," Credit Suisse wrote in a note to clients. "More importantly, this app release suggests to us that the final 4G launch is not far away (probably just a few months away) - and quite contrary to recent Street comments about a delay till mid-2016," it said.

Similar to WhatsApp, Jio Chat allows sending short messages over the Internet. It also allows delivery of these messages in an SMS format to unregistered users at no cost beyond the data charge, but with an SMS cost to the receiver.

The SMSes, capped at 100 per month, incur a termination charge of two paise each. For the user, the app offers a platform that can use both online chat and SMS. The person receiving the message is warned of charges at the time of collecting the message.

The app offers the facility to use pictures, stickers and even hand drawings on the messenger. It can engage two or multiple users in a common chat room. "On the basic voice calling facility, we believe the clarity and latency are quite close to normal voice (and better than that of apps like Viber). The data consumed for a call amounts to Rs 0.24 per minute on Jio Chat on prevailing data tariffs (compared to Rs 0.65-0.70 per minute for regular outgoing call rates in the market)," Credit Suisse said.

"If Jio launches with lower data tariffs, then the comparison could be even more attractive for the customer," the brokerage said. Jio has maintained that it will time its entry with a mature market and with sufficient avenues for its consumers to use its services. For that, the company has been building content across categories, including this launch.

Source: ET