Jio GigaFiber Launch Taking Longer than Expected, Here’s Why

When will Jio GigaFiber Launch? Anybody who is tech savvy and active on social media would have seen consumers asking this question to Jio Care. Jio GigaFiber, which was expected to see its commercial roll-out around Diwali last year, is now being pegged to be available by March 2019, as per media reports. However, Reliance Jio has not officially confirmed the news yet.

Furthermore, to every consumer who is asking for the launch date on Twitter, Jio Care is diligently replying saying “Thank you for your interest in Jio GigaFiber. We will keep you informed about other details through appropriate channels in future. The same will also be updated on Jio.com”.

Jio GigaFiber, Reliance Jio’s ambitious fibre-to-the-home service, promises to offer up to 1 Gbps internet speed along with a host of other interesting services such as Jio GigaTV set-top box with the ability to allow its users to video calls along with features like smart remote in several Indian languages as well as with voice command support. Jio GigaTV set-top box will also offer Ultra HD entertainment, multi-party video conferencing, voice activated virtual assistant, virtual reality gaming, shopping and smart home solutions.

All these premium features make consumers want to own the service as soon as possible. However, Ftth service deployment has its own set of challenges, which may be the reason why Jio GigaFiber is taking time to launch its services. Let us take a look at some of the challenges faced by FTTH players in the past.

Challenges Faced by Jio GigaFiber Like  FTTH Companies in Terms of Deployment

Achieving Last Mile Connectivity: Lack of fibre optic infrastructure to provide last mile connectivity has affected the performance of broadband, especially in rural India. This means that new cables need to be laid out as and where Jio GigaFiber invites are received, which is a time consuming and expensive process. Although Reliance Jio buying stakes in Hathway Cable and Datacom and Den Networks has helped the company to a large extent, laying cables in previously untouched areas does require time.

Legacy Infrastructure: Existing cables that have already been laid out could be limited to lower broadband speeds. This means that the company would need to replace these cables in order to deliver the promised 1 Gbps speed.

Dominance of State-owned Players and Local Cable Operators (LCOs): One of the biggest challenges Jio GigaFiber could face is the dominance by leading Broadband players like BSNL and MTNL, as well as LCOs. BSNL Broadband is currently the leading player in the broadband market in India, with over 9.30 million users. Nonetheless, Jio GigaFiber with its acquisitions in Hathway and Den has

1. Strengthened the 27,000 LCOs that are aligned with DEN and Hathway.
2. Given them access to superior back-end infrastructure.
3. Enabled tie-ups with content producers.
4. Given access to latest business platforms to improve business efficiencies and deliver customer experience.
5. Enabled investment in digital infrastructure for connecting customers.

Regulations become hurdles at times: India needs to formulate a proactive broadband strategy that could help address the digital divide. Dealing with regulations as well as local procedures is often a challenge for broadband companies.

Uncertain number of subscribers: Jio GigaFiber is deploying the services first in regions where it is receiving maximum invites. Uncertainty about number of subscribers increasing in certain areas, especially in the rural part of the country, may have slowed the deployment of services in certain regions.