Reliance Jio has been in the talks to offer a 5G network in India since last year. Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea were all given permission by The Department of Telecommunications to test 5G services in India. The 5G network will soon launch in the country, and Jio is expected to be the first company to do so.

Jio is rumoured to be testing 5G in India and this technology was developed by IIT Madras and IIT Hyderabad. Reliance Jio is expected to use sub-6GHz as well as mmWave bands for 5G deployment in India. While the sub-6GHz network has a larger range than the mmWave network, mmWave has a quicker speed but a shorter range.

In addition, the business has been working with Qualcomm to build a virtualized Radio Access Network (RAN), which is expected to speed up the implementation of Jio 5G in India. Jio aims to launch 5G across all enterprises and industries. In this article, we are going to take a look at the progress and all the news around the launch of the Reliance Jio 5G network in India.

The Expected Price of Jio’s 5G SIM

Not so long ago when Reliance introduced Jio with really affordable prices in comparison with its competitors, it brought a sudden change in the market. The company is expected to do the same with a 5G network and hopefully, the Reliance Jio 5G SIM price will not be expensive. That being said, since it’s much faster than other networks and the country will be able to experience speed at a different level, the network will require a costlier infrastructure. Hence it will definitely be more expensive than the 4G service.

While the cost has not been revealed, it’s estimated that Reliance Jio’s 5G SIM, similar to their 4G SIM, will be cost-effective and inexpensive.

The Expected Speed of Jio’s 5G

Reliance Jio 5G might deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps. For the 5G trials, the FCC has given these businesses permission to utilise the 700MHz, 3.5GHz, and 26GHz spectrums. Reliance has lost no time in putting its Jio 5G network to the test in India. It launched the Jio 5G experiment in Mumbai, utilising its own technology.

Jio 5G attained a speed of 1Gbps during trials utilising indigenous technology, according to a Qualcomm report.

Jio’s 5G Phone

Since 5G’s transfer speeds and recurrences are going to be a lot faster than 4G or any other previous technologies, new devices that support this function will have to be manufactured. Not many companies have started manufacturing gadgets that support 5G yet. We are hoping to have more gadget options after the launch of the network. But, Jio has that covered as well.

The company was rumoured to launch a 5G phone in collaboration with Google. The Jio 5G phone price is estimated to be anywhere between Rs. 2500 to Rs. 5000. With such an affordable price Jio hopes to increase their 5G customer margin like they did when they first launched the Jio network. However, the company is offering up to Rs. 10000 benefits with the IQOO 7 5G phone, which is available for Jio subscribers only on their website.

The IQOO 7 phone is priced at Rs. 29,990 and IQOO 7 legend is priced at Rs. 36,990. The Rs.10000 worth of benefits Jio is offering include cashback, coupons, Ajio vouchers, Project Eve Discount coupons, Lybrate Gold Membership, and more.

Jio was one of the first companies to launch VoLTE services in the country. Soon after Bharti Airtel launched VoLTE and so on. Not all devices supported Volte technology initially and now almost all gadgets have this technology.

According to reports, this Reliance Jio 5G phone might be priced between INR 2500 and INR 5,000.

Jio 4G Vs 5G

Reliance launched 4G LTE Technology in September 2016 and since has created a strong 4G network in all parts of the country. The 4G SIM card which is currently available in the Indian market is 128k and is more efficient than older SIM cards like 2G and 3G. Reliance Jio is also a system admin organisation, so we can recognize that the Jio 5G SIM like other telecom organisations like Airtel, Idea, Vodafone, etc. would also be 256k.

With the allocation of adequate quantum of wireless transmissions to each operator, India has the potential to offer 5G service using the 3.5GHz or 3500 MHz frequency spectrum as a significant building block. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sought input from the industry on the valuation mechanism for spectrum in the 3300-3400 MHz and 3400-3600 MHz bands, which are used for 5G networks, in August of last year.

In the next auction, the TRAI aims to put 175 MHz (3425-3600 MHz) radio waves to services, although ISRO’s use of the 25 MHz bands (3400-3425 MHz) in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is acknowledged (IRNSS).

So, aside from speed, the 5G network will also provide reduced latency. This implies that gaming and streaming movies on a 5G network would be substantially smoother. This will also eliminate latency during video calls. A slew of new possibilities will emerge as a result of this. At the AGM, Akash Ambani highlighted that with Jio 5G, people would be able to enjoy self-driving cars, improved health-care services over the internet, and much more.

Once the deployment begins, 5G will provide a huge increase in internet speeds. 5G is capable of offering 20Gbps downlink and 10Gbps uplink at its peak. This will be shared among numerous users, thus the end user will have access to up to 100Mbps download speeds and 50Mbps upload rates.

Jio 5G Expected Launch Date

The rumours of 5G launching soon have been around for a really long time. Everyone is looking forward to the launch of a faster network and experiencing high speed like never before. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL are putting in a lot of work and are competing to be the first to bring 5G in India.

Reliance was rumoured to launch the service at the end of 2018 or the first quarter of 2019. Jio is also in the news to launch 5G Mobile Phones, Routers along with SIM Cards. However, no official word is given by the company as of now.

Although it has not been verified, many predict Reliance Jio’s 5G technology will be available in India in 2022.

5G In India: Status of Other Network Providers

Vodafone Idea and its equipment partners Ericsson and Nokia have presented 5G use cases in Pune and Gandhinagar, utilising the government-allotted 5G trial airwaves, in areas like public safety, smart and linked health, smart buildings, and connected workers.

Vodafone Idea claimed it will demonstrate 5G-powered apps such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC), multi-access edge computing (MEC), virtual and augmented reality.

Airtel too has begun their 5G trials in Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub area and is carrying out trials in the middle band spectrum of 3500 Mhz. Airtel has been allotted the 5G trial spectrum in 3500 MHz, 28 GHz, and 700 MHz in four telecom circles like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and Kolkata. Jio is expected to begin its 5G trials in the cities like Delhi, Gujarat, and Hyderabad.

Moreover, Airtel is said to be working with companies like Accenture, Amazon Web Service (AWS), Nokia, Cisco, Tata Consultancy (TCS) to demonstrate enterprise-grade use cases using high-speed 5G networks.

5G services would be accessible in up to 13 cities across the nation in 2022, including Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, and Gandhi Nagar, according to the Department of Telecommunications.

Conclusion

While 5G has been in the talks for a while, Reliance Jio made any formal announcement for when it will be rolled out in the market. After many years of anticipation, there’s no doubt that many of us are eagerly awaiting this iconic moment! So, stay tuned at Selectra to always stay updated about Jio 5G’s launch date in India, as well as the status of other network providers who are set to offer 5G services.