Jio GigaFiber: When Will the Currently Elusive Connected Home be a Reality?

In present times, Jio GigaFiber is undoubtedly the talk of the town. After acquiring a 66% stake in Den Networks and a 51.3% stake in Hathway Cable and Datacom, the complete launch of the Jio GigaFiber Connected Home with Jio DTH is definitely near.

“Through these investments, Reliance and Jio will be strengthening the 27,000 LCOs that are aligned with DEN and Hathway to enable them to participate in the digital transformation of India through (a) access to superior back-end infrastructure; (b) tie-ups with content producers; (c) access to latest business platforms to improve business efficiencies and deliver customer experience; and (d) investment in digital infrastructure for connecting customers. This will create multiple future opportunities for LCOs as Jio rolls out new services and platforms,” says a press release issued by Reliance.

However, even now there is no exact clarity from Reliance on when the services will be available. According to a report on the Quint, the tests of Jio GigaFiber have reached the beta stage, which means that employees of the company are testing it out. This also means that the Jio GigaFiber enabled Jio DTH may not be available around Diwali as initially expected.

What makes people await the Jio GigaFiber service is the promise of 1Gbps speed, which will also allow Jio DTH users to make video calls on their television sets along with the smart remote that will support several Indian languages. The Jio GigaFiber empowered set-top box will also have voice command support.

Jio GigaTV or Jio DTH set-top box promises to offer Ultra HD entertainment, multi-party video conferencing, virtual reality gaming, shopping and smart home solutions, said Mukesh Ambani in a Reliance Event in July.

Nonetheless, acquisition of Hathway and Den Networks has given Reliance Jio direct access to 24 million subscribers across 750 cities. This move will also help Reliance gain access to last-mile connectivity of these homes. But it still seems like those awaiting the complete roll-out of Jio GigaFiber Connected Home may have to do so a little longer.

Jio GigaFiber installation is being done free of charge but users opting for it will have to pay a security deposit of Rs 4500 that is completely refundable according to the company. Jio DTH too is expected to disrupt the broadcom market with prices as low as Rs 500 per month for HD services.