After 4G, buzz about RJio broadband gets louder

Shiv Kumar

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Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 6

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has quietly begun rolling out broadband internet for residential users in Mumbai and Pune, according to reviews put out by tech bloggers in social media.

According to information available online, the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) service is being rolled out under the brand name JioFiber and has speed of up to 1 GBPS. Screen-shots of speed testing of JioFiber network is being uploaded online by users from Mumbai and Pune, according to tech bloggers. However, download speeds on JioFiber network reported by bloggers is at around 743 Mbps for even those with a 1 GBPS connection.

As of now, users are being offered four plans for unlimited broadband internet with the lowest package being priced at Rs 500 per month for 100 Mbps speed with unlimited downloads for the three months of the trial offer.

RIL officials refused to comment on the matter.

RIL has been laying fibre across the country in preparation for the launch of FTTH services in tandem with the 4G mobile service. Experts say, individual buildings will have to have a fibre network before the service can commence to individual flats. As of now, the highest broadband speeds are offered by state-owned MTNL and BSNL at just 1 Mbps.

Experts say, at a speed of 1 GBPS the broadband network will easily be able to replace cable television. Viewers would be able to access television content of their choice via the internet instead of subscribing to television channels.