New Delhi : Consumers across the country can avail Reliance Jio’s services from Monday, as the company opens its doors to all potential users having any 4G-enabled handset in an aggressive quest to garner 100 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha who was in Mumbai said, “The sector is open. More the competition better it is for the customers. The government wants customers to benefit.” According to Cybermedia Research (CMR), Jio will have more than 125 million potential 4G subscribers available during its commercial launch in December. According to analysts, Jio is expected to break even within five years and will require 75-80 million subscribers for that period. The Jio revolution will also boost the shipment of various 4G-enabled devices to 2.5 million by this year end, stated CMR.
According to sources, the Jio SIM — which so far was available only at Reliance Digital stores — will now also be offered through multi-brand outlets and mobile phone shops. “The SIMs will be available at nearly two lakh stores across the country, including locations where SIMs from other vendors are also sold,” sources said. A major beneficiary of the offer would be users of devices like iPhone, Xiaomi, Motorola and Lenovo who were not a part of the preview offer so far. RJio, which had already roped in 1.5 million users in the test phase, is gunning for 100 million users at the shortest possible time. Nearly 20 brands, including Sony, Sansui, Videocon, LG, Samsung, Micromax, Panasonic, Asus, TCL, Alcatel, HTC, Intex, Vivo, Gionee, Karbonn and Lava were part of the preview offer which provided free 90-day unlimited calls and high-speed mobile broadband trials to 4G smartphone users of these brands. The offer is now being rebranded as a ‘welcome offer’, which from September 5 will provide unlimited services till up to December 31, after which users have been promised voice calls – both local and STD – as well as roaming free of cost, for life. The data charges are also pegged as low as Rs 50 per GB, compared to Rs 250 a GB prevailing in the market.