Reliance Jio’s 5G infra reaches 365 cities across India

Reliance Jio is offering its 5G service through a mix of wireless spectrum across 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands

Indian operator Reliance Jio Infocomm announced the launch of 5G services across 34 cities in 10 states, taking the total of towns and cities covered by its 5G network infrastructure to 365, the telco said in a release.

The cities where the telco has recently launched its 5G offering are: Amalapuram, Dharmavaram, Kavali, Tanuku, Tuni, Vinukonda (Andhra Pradesh state), Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Rewari (Haryana), Dharamshala, Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), Baramulla, Kathua, Katra, Sopore (Jammu and Kashmir), Haveri, Karwar, Ranebennur (Karnataka), Attingal (Kerala), Tura (Meghalaya), Bhawanipatna, Jatani, Khordha, Sundargarh (Odisha), Ambur, Chidambaram, Namakkal, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivakasi, Tiruchengode, Viluppuram (Tamil Nadu) and Suryapet (Telangana).

Jio said users in these cities will be invited to the ‘Jio Welcome Offer’ to experience unlimited data at up to 1 Gbps speeds, at no additional cost, starting March 15, the telecom arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries said in a statement.

Jio is offering the 5G connectivity on an invitational basis, with users living in 5G-enabled cities who have 5G compatible smartphones receiving invitations.

The telco had initially announced the launch of the beta trial of its 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi in October. Jio is offering 5G through a Standalone (SA) network architecture.

Last year, Reliance Jio Infocomm announced 5G contracts with Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia. The deal with Ericsson marked the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for Radio Access Network deployment in the country.

Reliance Jio had previously secured a mix of wireless spectrum for 5G across 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands. Jio is the only operator with the 700 MHz low-band spectrum.

Last week, rival operator Bharti Airtel said it expanded its 5G footprint in the country with the launch of 5G in 125 cities across the Asian nation. With these 5G network expansion, the carrier said its “Airtel 5G Plus” service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in India.

The company’s CEO, Gopal Vittal, recently said that Bharti Airtel aims to provide 5G services in 300 cities across the country by March next year.

In October 2022, Bharti Airtel launched 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi.

The carrier is currently using equipment from Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to provide 5G services. The Indian operator had secured a total of 19,800 megahertz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands in a recent auction carried out by the Indian government.

India’s telecommunications minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently said that the country will achieve 100% coverage for 5G services by the end of December 2024. The official said that telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm aim to complete their 5G network deployments within the next 15 months.

Indian press reported that India-developed 5G stack has been fully developed and is ready to be exported to the rest of the world, according to a top official from the country’s telecom department.

Last month, India’s communications minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that at least nine countries have showed interest in a locally developed 4G and 5G technology stack.