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Mukesh Ambani: 4G cheaper than 2G, personal wi-fi hotspots

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Thirteen years back, Mukesh Ambani’s
‘Monsoon Hungama’ unleashed India’s
telecom revolution.
He’s set to change the game again starting
next year -- by offering ultra-futuristic 4G
services at “one-hundredth of current costs”,
firing a warning shot at telecom incumbents.
At present, a 3G video call costs Rs 6 per
minute, meaning theoretically RIL can offer it
at 6 paise per minute.


That opens a whole new connected world for
both them rich cousins abroad as well as the
security guard from Bihar who toils in a
Mumbai high rise through 12-hour shifts.
Both will stay connected to their kin –
including seeing them at any time of the day
– at stunningly low prices. The technology
will also make video conferencing redundant.

If all that weren’t enough, Ambani plans to
offer ultra-cheap data too — cheaper than 3G
and 2G available today, said sources.
“The Reliance Jio initiative will radically
transform the lives of 1.2 billion Indians. Our
vision for India is that broadband and digital
services will no longer be a luxury item — a
scarce commodity — to be rationed amongst
the privileged few. We envision an India
where these are basic necessities to be
consumed in abundance by consumers and
small businesses alike, as much in far-flung
villages as in our largest cities,” Mukesh
Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries
(RIL) told shareholders at the company’s
thirty-ninth annual general meeting (AGM) on
Thursday.


How will RIL make a profit from these
ventures?
Through an exponential growth in data usage
and voice volumes, said experts.
RIL is hopeful of many consumers migrating
to its telecom network, when it becomes a
standalone telecom operator offering 4G
voice and data services next year.

Another revolutionary plan is to launch a 4G
wi-fi card the size of a visiting card, which
becomes a personal wi-fi hotspot.
With this card, one doesn’t need a 3G or 4G-
enabled handset to access internet, nor
switch the operator to avail of RIL’s 4G
services, said a company source.


All these would be part of Reliance Jio’s 4G
offerings, that also includes 4G handsets,
SIM cards, chipsets and dongles.
“Together with our partners, we have charted
an ambitious plan for the next 12 months,
and we foresee rapid progress towards
launching services across India,” Ambani
said.
Reliance Jio has already invested Rs 18,000
crore to buy pan-India 4G spectrum, and will
be trebling employee base from 3,000 now to
10,000 in a year – which is what the big
telcos in India have.
Last year, Reliance Jio had 700 on rolls.
RIL has also paid Rs 1,200 crore to lease
Reliance Communications’ 120,000 kms of
inter-city optic fibre network for 20 years.
Industry sources confirmed Reliance Jio
would not be buying any tower assets,
preferring to remain an asset-free company
and would instead only take them on lease.

While it is expected that Reliance Jio will
launch 4G services in a pilot stage in Delhi
and Mumbai in December this year, full-
fledged operations are expected to take off by
March 2014.


“We have also finalised the key vendor and
supplier partnerships that are required for the
initial launch of our services,” said Ambani.
He said specific details on 4G products,
processes and deadlines would only be
revealed at the next AGM, which is in June
2014.
“We do not want to give an artificial schedule
as 4G is a long-term investment, a
knowledge-intensive business and takes a lot
of testing, that despite a sense of urgency
has to steer away from careless haste,” he
said.

www.dnaindia.com/money/1844798/report-video-call-few-paise-personal-wi-fi-hotspots
 
yesterday it was all over the news channels.....well I hope many companies will follow reliance....I expect Birla and Tata like companies will follow Ambani too.
 
Best of all would be value added services like high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, 3D television and Cloud Computing. And all this for a song!! :tup:
 
Hope Mukesh doesn't end up with egg on his face like last time when he tried to enter telecom sector. Telcom is fiercely competitive sector and Reliance is not used to operating in such high competition sectors so Reliance should be careful.
 
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