Jio DTH, Jio GigaFiber: Latest Launch Date and All Developments So Far

It has been nearly four months since Reliance magnate Mukesh Ambani announced Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH or Jio Giga TV as it is being pegged. Although huge progress has been made after the announcement of the service, there is still no official word from Reliance Jio on the final launch.

However, every now and then there have been constant updates and news on the rumored launch date and other information from social media influencers and other media reports that have kept consumers waiting for Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH motivated. While some news was confirmed by Reliance Jio, some continue to be rumors and speculations that await official confirmation.

All Developments and Speculations on Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH

1. Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH Announced on 5 July 2018: After months of beta testing, Reliance Jio announced the official public launch of Jio GigaFiber in 1100 cities targeting small, medium as well as large enterprises to use this service, apart from commercial users. The service was initially being expected to be completely available by Diwali.
2. Official Registrations for Jio GigaFiber Start on 15 August 2018: Interested consumers were provided a link to invite Jio GigaFiber to their area, and it was stated that the area with the maximum invites would get the service faster.
3. Fiber optics of the Jio GigaFiber starts getting laid with a select few consumers getting their service.
4. Jio GigaFiber Preview Offer Launched on 21 August 2018: Jio GigaFiber is being offered to users wherein a 100GB monthly data at 100Mbps is given free for the first three months from the date a consumer registers for the service. Users will also get 40GB additional data after 100GB gets exhausted, the recharge for which can be done via MyJio App and the company’s official website. Users need to submit a security deposit of Rs 4500 that is refundable.
5. News reports suggest that Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH roll-out was facing resistance in terms of last mile connectivity from local cable operators. Rumors of Jio GigaFiber acquiring stake in Hathway Cable and Datacom start doing the rounds.
6. Jio GigaFiber Acquires Stakes in Hathway and Den on 17 October 2018: Reliance Jio acquires 66 percent stake in Den and 51.3 percent in Hathway. The acquisition of stakes in both these companies will help Reliance Jio ramp up the coverage for Jio GigaFiber and Jio DTH across the country.
7. Jio GigaFiber powered Jio DTH makes an appearance in IMC 2018: Jio Giga TV set-top box or the Jio DTH will come along with the optic fiber, which can also be connected to Reliance Jio enabled smartphones thus connecting a regular home into a smart home or an IoT home. Reliance says that Ultra HD entertainment, multi-party video conferencing, virtual reality gaming, shopping and other smart home solutions will be offered, and as per market speculations the price of the same could be as low as Rs 500 per month.
8. Jio GigaFiber Tops the Netflix speed Index Consistently for Two months in a Row: Jio GigaFiber made a debut at the top on Netflix Internet Service Providers (ISPs) speed Index with an average playback rate of 3.41 Mbps. And for the month of October, Jio GigaFiber has topped the list again with an average playback rate of 3.48 Mbps.
9. Jio GigaFiber Expected to Reach These Cities First: Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Kota, Raipur, Nagpur, Ghaziabad, Ludhiana, Madurai, Nashik, Faridabad, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Chennai, Ranchi, Pune, Indore, Thane, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Allahabad, Agra, Meerut, Rajkot, Srinagar, Amritsar and Solapur. However, Reliance Jio has not confirmed this report.
10. Jio GigaFiber Preview Offer to Extend and Jio DTH Expected Launch Date: These are again speculations, and as per a report on a video shared by BTVI news quoting sources on their official platform on Twitter, Reliance Jio GigaFiber may continue to be free till March and the company may also start rolling-out Jio Giga TV or Jio DTH by December 2018. However, according to tech insider Sanjay Bafna who took to Twitter to say that, Jio GigaFiber and its complete services “Would be available for all by 2020” and that too depending on the business cases.