Reliance Jio has been very vocal about bringing 5G networks and connectivity to India as soon as possible. The telco has been working on developing indigenous 5G equipment to roll out a home-grown 5G network for its users. Jio has already deployed and tested its indigenous RAN and 5G network and got a delivery of 1 Gbps throughput. Mukesh Ambani had earlier said that Reliance Jio would bring 5G to India in the second half of 2021. However, to do that, Jio will now have to utilise the Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology since the telecom department is yet to come up with an updated National Frequency Allocation Policy (NFAP) detailing spectrum bands that will be used for 5G in India. Until the time the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) doesn’t avail the dedicated 5G spectrum to the telcos, they can’t roll out 5G in the most efficient and effective manner. Note that Jio’s spectrum portfolio is 5G focused. All that the telco needs is a high-frequency spectrum, and it will be all set to roll out 5G.
Reliance Jio Has Largest Spectrum Footprint in sub-GHz Band Throughout India
In the recent spectrum auctions, Jio acquired a ton of spectrum across multiple bands by spending Rs 57,123 crore, out of which the telco had to make an upfront payment of Rs 19,939 crore. Later, Jio also acquired spectrum from Bharti Airtel in the 800 MHz bands topping its sub-GHz band holding in the country even further. Now, Reliance Jio has at least 2 blocks of 10 MHz spectrum in the 800 MHz band in 18 out of the 22 circles of India. The sub-GHz spectrum will be fruitful for the telco when it rolls out the 5G network in India. This is because sub-GHz bands are regarded as excellent when it comes to providing long network coverage. Once Jio gets high-frequency bands from the 5G spectrum, it will be able to leverage its entire spectrum portfolio for rolling out 5G fast in India. Further, Jio now has at least 2 blocks of 10 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in the entire India. On top of this, Jio is the only operator in India which has PAN-India 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2300 MHz band.
Reliance Jio Testing 5G Network
Jio is already testing its 5G network and indigenous radio equipment for fine-tuning its performance. The company is also working with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to standardise the configurations for 5G devices. We expect the telco to come out with an announcement related to 5G in its Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled later this year.
Reliance Jio Made Rs 12,537 Crore During FY21
Yesterday, the financial results of Reliance Jio for FY21 was released. The telco made a net profit of Rs 12,537 crore during the entire year and added 37.9 million net subscribers. However, Jio’s average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped from Rs 151 to Rs 138.2 for the last quarter due to multiple reasons. The telco ended FY21 with 426.2 million subscribers in the bag, which is the highest for any operator in the country.
