The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Reliance Jio extends trial launch of 4G services to public through invite

    Synopsis

    Jio has now empowered the group employees, who had got the trial SIM earlier, to bring 10 more people to the 4G network through a referral invite system.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio has extended the trial launch of its 4G services to the public through an invite system, driven by its group employees, as it inches closer to a commercial launch widely expected to be later this year.

    Jio has now empowered the group employees, who had got the trial SIM earlier, to bring 10 more people to the 4G network through a referral invite system.

    The invite, which has to be sent by a RIL employee, will allow people to buy a LYF phone, which will come bundled with free unlimited 4G data and voice for three months.

    “Our state of the art all-IP TRUE 4G network is being rolled out on a massive unprecedented scale. Our network leverages technologies like VoLTE, VoWiFi....As we inch closer towards our commercial launch, we are providing our near and dear ones ( Yes you!) a chance to test out our network. Powered with rich content through various Jio APPs we intend to deliver superior digital life experience to Indian consumers,” an employee invite, seen by ET, said.

    Reliance Jio didn’t revert to an ET query on the same. The 4G operator recently revealed that its services were being tested by over 500,000 users, many of whom use LYF phones. The telco had said it will launch full-scale commercial operations once the base increases to a few million users, which is widely estimated to be towards the end of this year.

    Reliance Retail’s handset brand — LYF — emerged as India’s fifth-largest smartphone player in its first quarter since launch, creating a flutter in the world’s fastestgrowing smartphone market which is led by Samsung, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

    LYF cornered a 7% share of the smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, on the back of high demand for 4G LTE phones in India where two of three smartphones shipped supported the highspeed broadband services.

    The customer addition through referrals will not only add to its customer count but may also push it up the ranks in the smartphone market share sweepstakes.

    Under the offer, new connections will come with unlimited access to Jio applications for 90 days. Jio offers services like Jio Play, Jio On-Demand, Jio Beats, JioMags, JioXpressNews, Jio Security, and Jio Drive. “All this is for free. You just have to buy LYF handset,” the invite said.

    The extended trial will not just help the telco extensively test its network and services in the country, but will also allow it to push the sales of LYF-branded handsets, which are sourced from vendors like ZTE and CK Telecom.

    Reliance Jio, through its retail arm, is offering a number of devices under the LYF brand, priced between Rs 5,490- Rs 19,399. These LYF handsets can be bought only at Reliance Digital and Reliance Digital Mini store along with the invitation code, sent by a RIL employee over mail.

    Executives at a number of Reliance Digital Xpress stores across Delhi confirmed receiving the first lot of 4G SIM cards, besides LYF-branded smartphones, ET earlier reported.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in