Reliance JioFiber has been officially rolled out on 5 Sep 2019.   The prepaid monthly plans for Reliance JioFiber start from Rs 699 and go up to Rs 8,499 (plus GST), called Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Titanium. The fibre-to-the-home service by Reliance Jio is offering internet speeds starting from 100Mbps and up to 1 Gbps.  Across packs, Reliance Jio Plans are similar to or even slightly higher than local broadband providers. The speeds offered are higher in low-end plans. The free television set will be given only to subscribers who opt for the annual version of Gold plan or above.  Let’s Look at Reliance Jio Fibre plans, TV offer of Reliance Jio Fiber, How does it compare against Competition? Will Reliance repeat the disruption caused in the telecom sector with Jio?

Reliance Jio Fiber Plans

Reliance has launched Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service called Jio GigaFiber, a combo service of broadband internet, fixed-line telephone service and television set-top-box on 5 Sep. It was announced by Mukesh Ambani in its Reliance Annual General Meeting on August 12, 2019.

Reliance Jio has introduced six monthly plans for the JioFiber service, namely Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Titanium. The monthly plans for Reliance JioFiber start from Rs 699 and go up to Rs 8,499( + GST).  The free television set will be given only to subscribers who opt for annual version of Gold plan or above.

At the time of installation, subscribers will have to make a one-time payment of Rs 2,500 – comprising a security deposit of Rs 1,500 and a non-refundable installation charge of Rs 1,000.  GST would be applied on all plans, as applicable which in 2019 was 18%.

Reliance JioFibre Monthly Plans

• JioFiber is offering free voice calls to anywhere in India with all the monthly plans
• Bronze prepaid plan will cost Rs 699, with speeds up to 100Mbps and 100GB of high-speed data.  It offers a free 6W Bluetooth speaker.
• Silver plan worth Rs 849 offers 200GB of high-speed data at 100Mbps.
• Gold plan has been priced at Rs 1,299 with speeds up to 250 Mbps and FUP limit of 500GB.
• Diamond plan has been priced at Rs 2,499, with internet speed of 500 Mbps and high-speed usage limit of 1,250GB.
• Platinum plan has been priced Rs 3,999, with FUP limit of 2,500GB  and offers internet speed up to 1 Gbps.
• Titanium plan has been priced at Rs 8,499 respectively, with FUP limit of 5,000GB respectively and internet speed up to 1Gbps.
• Once the FUP limit is exhausted, the speeds would be restricted to 1 Mbps.

For the first six months, JioFiber is also offering 50GB extra data with Gold plan, 200GB with Silver plan, and 250GB with Gold and Diamond plans as an introductory offer. GST would be applied on all plans, as applicable.

The premium plans – Diamond and above – come with immersive VR experience, the much-hyped First Day, First Show, and special sports content included in the monthly plan. 

Every JioFiber subscriber would get a set-top box. For the additional services though, subscribers would have to purchase compatible devices.

• Video calling and conferencing services can be availed for an additional payment of Rs 1,200 per year.
• Zero-latency gaming can be enjoyed with JioFiber connection for another annual payment of Rs 1,200. 
• The ability to share content at home and outside comes included with all monthly plans. 
• For Rs 999 per year, subscribers can avail Norton device security for up to 5 devices.

Reliance JioFibre Long Term Plans

Along with the monthly plans, JioFiber also come with long-term plans for 3, 6 and 12 months. Jio is also planning to provide attractive EMI schemes through bank tie-ups so subscribers can get the benefits of annual plans by paying monthly EMI only.

Reliance JioFibre Annual Plans & JioFiber Welcome

Opting for the JioFiber annual plan makes subscribers eligible for the JioFiber Welcome Offer. Under this scheme, subscribers will get a 

• Jio Home Gateway router,
•  a Jio 4K set-top box,
•  a free television set, 
• subscription to your favourite OTT apps
• unlimited voice and data. 

What about 4K TV offer of Reliance Jio Fiber

There is a lot of excitement among the customers owing to the free 4K TV on offer with the Jio Fiber. But, are they worth it?

For a free 43-inch 4K TV worth Rs 44,990, customers will have to opt for JioForever Annual Titanium broadband Plan which is priced at Rs 1,01,988. Reliance Jio hasn’t disclosed the TV brand and the specifications of the bundled 4K TV. The Titanium plan would offer 60,000 GB data at a speed of 1 Gbps

Gold and Diamond customers will get a 24-inch HD TV worth ₹12,990. Gold customers only with a two-year subscription will receive the free HD TV.

Platinum users will receive a 32-inch HD TV worth ₹32,990 

But what will happen if a user cancels or switches to another plan after 6 or 8 months? What will happen if the user changes the plan after completing 12 months or changes over to another service provider, will the user be made to surrender the 4K TV?

At the launch, it was also said that the Titanium plans will offer support for Virtual Reality (VR) experience and premium content access like First-Day-First-Show movies, special sports content, etc. But the company has not provided any details about the VR content and also on how the First-Day-First-Show concept will work. At the moment, there is an eight-week window between a theatrical release and the release in any other format.

The 1Gbps speed sounds pretty good on paper but do you really need it in your house? 1Gbps speed matters only for a power user or in the enterprise scenario. For a casual home user, 100 Mbps is enough to stream Netflix at full HD resolution on multiple devices simultaneously. YouTube doesn’t buffer and everything runs smoothly. 

If you want to play 4K content on TV then Jio’s Gold plan that offers 250 Mbps would suffice. For a 2-year subscription of the Gold plan at Rs 31,176, users can also get a 24-inch HD TV with a retail cost of Rs 12,990 for free. Other than that, users will also get the usual Jio Home Gateway worth Rs 5,000 + 4K Set Top Box worth Rs 6,400.

Which Reliance Jio Fiber plan is Good?

The best JioFiber plan for a regular home user is the ‘Diamond’ Rs 2499 plan. It offers 500 Mbps speed and 1.25 Terabytes of data coupled with access to premium content and offers VR experience on VR headset.  As part of the ‘Welcome Offer’, the Diamond plan also offers a 24-inch HDTV worth Rs 12,990.  

The Gold Plan is the next best plan if you are not interested in ‘first day-first show’ movies and VR experience. Part of the Jio Forever Annual Plan, the Gold plan offers 250 Mbps speed at a monthly rental of Rs 1,299 and 500GB data.

How does Reliance JioFiber compare with Competition?

Home broadband market in India is still under penetrated with only 18 million connections. Of these, nearly 50 per cent are BSNL/MTNL. Additionally, only 7 per cent of the connections is fiber.   Jio is targeting 20 million homes and 16 million enterprises across 1,600 towns and  with fiber layout of 7,00,000 kilometers (rising to 1.1 million kilometers going forward) i aims to complete the roll-out in 12-18 months. On the other hand, Sunil Mittal-owned Bharti Airtel has a current subscriber base of 2.3 million and 10 million home pass.

Across packs, the price is 12-23 per cent lower than Airtel but similar to or even slightly higher than local broadband providers. The speeds offered are higher in low-end plans. However, the company’s offerings seem to only be slightly better than the existing players. For example, the amount of data it offers for the base Rs 699 broadband plan is only 100GB per month.

Airtel V-Fiber Broadband

Airtel V-Fiber broadband service offers lightning-fast speeds of up to 100Mbps. In Delhi, Airtel V-Fiber monthly plans start from Rs 799 with internet speeds of up to 40 Mbps and 100GB broadband data. The 100 Mbps plan called ‘Entertainment’ starts from Rs 1,099 per month with 300GB broadband data. The plan offers a subscription to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Zee5 and Airtel Xstream for free. The company also has Rs 1,599 ‘Premium’ and Rs 1,999 ‘VIP’ plan with speeds up to 300 Mbps and 100 Mbps respectively. The Rs 1,999 plan does not come with a data limit. All of the AIrtel V-Fiber plans provide additional data benefits with 6-months validity.

AirTel XStream Box

Airtel is also offering Android-powered Set Top Box(STB) called Xstream Box and Airtel Xstream Stick. Just like the JioFiber STB, Airtel’s Xstream Box can also relay content from both OTT sources and standard cable channels.

Tata Sky Broadband

Tata Sky Broadband plan starts from Rs 999 per month for a 25 Mbps connection which is slower than what is promised by Reliance JioFiber. However, the plan has no data limits and comes with a free router. The 100Mbps plan of Tata Sky starts from Rs 1599. None of the Tata Sky Broadband plans offers free installation!

ACT Fibernet Broadband

Basic Act Fibernet Broadband plan called the ACT Silver Promo starts from Rs 749 for 100 Mbps speed and a data limit of 500GB. The ACT Platinum Promo plan of ACT Fibernet offers 150 Mbps speed and a 1000 GB data limit. The company also allows its users to activate Netflix by subscribing to any ACT Entertainment plan.

How to register for JioFiber

For registration, customers will have to Reliance Jio Fibre website and mention their location their work or residential address. Post the successful completion of the online registration, Reliance Jio sales representative will contact the user for the installation of the Jio Fiber connection.

However, not everyone who registers for the high-speed internet on the company’s website will get the Jio Fiber connection. The company has said that the Jio Fiber roll-out will take place in a phased manner and its reach will depend on the demand. 

Here’s how to register for JioFiber

• Go to https://www.jio.com/fiber/en-in/book-now or download MyJio app
• Click on the menu ‘Get a new JioFiber connection’
• Enter your address for JioFiber
• Select your home address or work address
• Enter all your details (name, contact number, email address, etc.)
• Select your plan
• Click on the option ‘Generate OTP’
• Verify the OTP
• You shall receive a confirmation message that your interest has been registered

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The fiber-to-the-home service by Reliance Jio is offering internet speeds starting from 100Mbps, going all the way up to 1 Gbps, along with a host of other services like free voice, TV calling, gaming, entertainment, among others. Reliance Jio Fiber Plans are comparable to what are available in the market. We are planning to wait and watch. What about you?