After months of public trials, Reliance Industries led by MD Mukesh Ambani finally announced the commercial launch of Reliance Jio. The launch of Jio is going to change the Indian telecom sector forever.
Not only is Reliance offering the cheapest LTE data network in the world, it is also promising better network connectivity than existing operators like AirTel and Vodafone. The launch, however, has also led to questions in the mind of the Indian public about Jio, their plans, and more. To help clear this confusion, we have compiled the answers to some of the frequently asked questions and confusion surrounding Jio.
Q) When does Reliance Jio commercially launch? When will I be able to get a Jio SIM card and from where?
A) Reliance Jio launches commercially from September 5th. From that day onwards, you will be able to head over to your nearest Reliance Digital/Xpress stores, submit your relevant documents, and get a Jio SIM card for free.
Q) Will my free Reliance Jio preview SIM card stop working after Jio’s commercial launch?
A) No, your preview Jio SIM card will continue to work like normal. Once the preview period expires, you will have to recharge the number using a suitable plan of your choice.
Q) What is JIO WELCOME OFFER?
A) All Reliance Jio subscribers will be getting free unlimited data, voice calls, and SMSs until December 31st. This means that even if you get a Jio SIM card now, the first recharge that you will have to do on it will be on January 1st, 2017.
Q) I heard Reliance is offering free voice calls for all Jio subscribers?
A) Yes. Voice calls on Jio are completely FREE. This includes calls made to other operators like Vodafone, AirTel, Idea, and others as well. This also includes calls that are made while on roaming.
You will never have to pay a penny for doing voice calls on Jio. There is a slight problem here, though: Vodafone, Airtel, and other operators are not providing Reliance with enough POIs (Point of Interconnection) that is leading to an abnormally high call drops and failure on Jio network. This is not Jio’s fault since Airtel, Vodafone, and other operators are intentionally doing this to wreck Jio’s party and create a negative impression in the public’s eye.
Q) I also heard Jio’s network is very poor?
A) Unlike Airtel, Vodfone, and other operators, Reliance Jio only has a 4G network. There is no 2G/3G network for Jio to fall back onto. This should not be a cause of concern since Jio’s network connectivity is excellent. I have been using Jio since over a month now, and it has offered better network reception than Vodafone for me.
Q) Are all smartphones compatible with Jio?
A) No. All 4G + VoLTE handsets are compatible with Reliance Jio. While many handsets support LTE/4G out of the box, many other handsets need a software update for VoLTE to be enabled.
Almost all major devices released in the last year in India support VoLTE and 4G/LTE. Popular devices like OnePlus One, OnePlus 2 etc., however, need a software update to support VoLTE. You can find a list of Reliance Jio compatible VoLTE devices here.
Q) What are the tariff plans of Reliance Jio?
The tariff plans of Reliance Jio are as follows:
For prepaid users, the cheapest plan starts at Rs 19 with 1-day validity, while the cheapest postpaid plan is priced at Rs 149.
As for the add-on plans, they are as follows:
Q) What benefits do I get as a Reliance Jio subscriber?
A) Quite a few, actually.
- All Jio plans, except for the Rs 149 plan, offers free 100 SMSs per day
- Free access to Jio’s suite of apps like Music, Movies etc. for free until December 31st, 2017
- Unlimited LTE data during night time, except for in the Rs 149 plan
- Free monthly data allowance for Reliance’s JioNet Wi-Fi hotspot
- Free unlimited calls, data, and SMSs until December 31st, 2016
In case you have not already guessed it, you should avoid the Rs 149 Jio plan since it does not some major benefits.
Q) What is JioNet Wi-Fi Hotspot?
A) In some cities in India, Reliance offers public Wi-Fi connectivity. Jio subscribers will be able to use these Wi-Fi hotspots as well without paying any additional data charges provided they don’t exhaust their monthly data limit. These Wi-Fi hotspots actually deliver pretty impressive speeds of anywhere between 70 to 100Mbps.
JioNet Wi-Fi hotspots are most commonly found in key areas of Kolkata.
Q) What is the time during night when data usage is completely free on Jio?
A) Reliance Jio offers free unlimited data usage across all its plans — except for Rs 149 one — from 2am to 5am.
Q) Will data used in Jio apps count towards my monthly data allowance?
A) Yes, it will.
Q) As a student, is there anything I should be aware of?
A) Yes. Reliance is offering 25% more data and other benefits to students with a valid ID card.
Q) Will Reliance be entering the broadband market?
A) Reliance does plan on offering FTTH gigabit internet connection in some cities in India.
In addition to commercially launching Jio, Reliance also dropped the prices of their JioFi mobile hotspot device to Rs 1999. Additionally, it also lowered the price of its LYF handset to Rs 3000 making it the cheapest 4G LTE compatible handset in the market.
If you have any other questions about Reliance Jio that has not been answered above, drop in a comment with it and we will answer them for you.
