Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is leaving no stone unturned for the launch of its 4G services under the brand name of Reliance Jio Infocomm. These services will be launched in three metros: Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, in the last quarter of 2013. Telecomm engineers and executives from US, Germany and China are working on implementing high speed internet and voice services over fourth generation (4G) telecomm networks.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman RIL, has an advantage to enter the telecomm market at this time. RIL has meticulously planned each step for Reliance Jio Infcomm to woo mobile subscribers, as it is the first telecomm service entering the unknown waters of 4G services. A strong financial backup is again an advantage for this telecomm venture from RIL. Overall, the average revenue in voice services is dipping; also 4G and LTE (Long-term evolution) technologies have become the new drivers for subscribers judging via subscription of data plans. LTE has a speed up to 100 megabits per second (mbps) which means users can freely access e-learning, HD movies , downloads of heavy files , online streaming of videos without buffering , HD gaming and many others.
Vouching complete success of these services in India, Ambani has applied a whole new strategy for differentiating these services from other rival companies by placing it as a brand which will give more value for what is being paid by the user. The focus is on the entire digital value chain, from networks and devices to digital content and customer services. The objective is not to rush into the market directly. Reliance Jio Infocomm will first skim the market and go into the capturing the whole market at a late stage. It means that metros across the country will get access to 4G services earlier as compared to other cities and towns. The catch is to maintain the pricing equation. The marketers will look after the fact that even though the pricing is low, the brand will maintain its high stature in the telecomm industry.
For the initial launch in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Reliance Jio Infocomm is said to have tied up with Samsung to provide the 4G LTE network equipment. Unlike CDMA, the users can enjoy these services on their chosen mobile devices and tablets. Also, RIL is also busy on creating a new device called –“My-Fi” which will convert LTE signals to Wi-Fi, allowing network access in any given area. These devices will be portable so that the users can avail the high speed LTE network anytime, anywhere.
To build the ecosystem in the country, Reliance has decided to come up with 8,000 cell towers in Mumbai, 5,000 in Delhi and 2,500 in Bengaluru. Mukesh Ambani will likely invest a total of $8 billion in this 4G telecomm venture.