RJio targeting 100 million home broadband customers

At the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries, the company unveiled several significant updates, including bonus shares, an expansion of Jio and Reliance Retail, and new AI tools. The AGM has been one of the most anticipated corporate events in India.

Some extracts from Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio’s speech:
“Reliance Jio targeting 100 million home broadband customers, with 30 million additions every month. With JioTV+, you get access to over 860 live TV channels, with all leading channels in stunning High Definition, plus the best content from apps like Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Hotstar—all in one place. This is across 10 languages and 20 genres. Subscribers can catch up on missed TV shows for up to 7 days.
This makes us the single biggest aggregator of live TV channels in the country, considering the ministry of information and broadcasting has given permission to 922 channels for uplinking and downlinking channels in India as of March 2024.

JioTV+ brings entertainment—live TV, on-demand shows, and apps—together in one easy-to-use platform. And we have optimised JioTV+ for a super-fast channel switching experience. Switching between your favourite channels is now faster than ever, so you won’t miss a single moment of the action.”

Kiran Thomas, CEO, Jio Platforms, added,
“The uniqueness of JioTV+ is how it combines content from over a dozen OTT apps, hundreds of live TV channels, and a vast library of on-demand movies and shows with a single login without having to juggle multiple apps or remember different passwords.

Also, our powerful recommendation engine offers personalised suggestions based on your viewing habits, making it easier to find something you will love. And, if you miss a show, Catch-up TV lets you go back up to seven days and catch up on what you missed. With our upcoming Play-Pause feature, you will soon be able to pause live TV and pick up right where you left off whenever you are ready.

Jio’s home-grown operating system for the Jio STB called Jio TvOS, provides a personalised, high-quality viewing experience with features like Ultra HD 4K video, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos, transforming TVs into cinematic hubs. Jio TvOS integrates preferred apps, live TV, and shows in one simple, easy-to-use system.

A few years ago, we introduced Hello Jio, a voice assistant that has quickly become one of the most loved features of JioSTB. We’ve now made Hello Jio even smarter by incorporating the latest generative AI technologies, enhancing its natural language understanding, and making interactions feel more human-like.

Hello Jio can not only launch apps with commands like ‘Open Netflix,’ but also find specific movies, shows, or music by name. For instance, if you want to watch sports, just say ‘Play Star Sports,’ and Hello Jio will tune in for you—no need to remember channel numbers.”

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited added,

Five growth engines. It has been my privilege to establish, lead, and nurture our five growth engines – O2C, Retail, Jio, Media, and Green Energy and fuels. We are uniquely positioned to grow new businesses around the adjacencies of all these growth engines. Today, three of these engines have a valuation of over $100 billion each, and they will continue to grow even faster.

On Jio AI Cloud. Jio AI Cloud will offer the most affordable prices for those needing even higher storage. The service aims to support our AI Everywhere for Everyone vision. It is expected to be rolled out by Diwali, which is set to be celebrated on November 1.

Today, I am announcing that Jio users will get up to 100 GB of free cloud storage, to securely store and access all their photos, videos, documents, all other digital content, and data. And we will also have the most affordable prices in the market for those needing even higher storage.

To achieve this, we are laying the groundwork for a truly national AI infrastructure. We plan to establish gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, powered entirely by Reliance’s green energy, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and a greener future.

By leveraging our expertise in infrastructure, networking, operations, software, and data and by collaborating with our global partners, our goal is to create the world’s lowest AI inferencing cost, right here in India. This will make AI applications in India more affordable than anywhere else, making AI accessible to all.

Jio is targeting to double revenues. With deep tech innovation and a focus on customer and shareholder value, Jio is poised to be a cornerstone of India’s digital future. Led by our momentum in connectivity, we are targeting to double our revenues and EBITDA over the next three to four years. Beyond that, the potential of AI as a growth engine is enormous, and I will keep you updated on our progress in AI.

Jio’s network carries nearly 8% of global mobile traffic. Thanks to Jio, India is now the world’s largest data market. Today, Jio’s network carries nearly 8% of global mobile traffic, surpassing even major global operators, including those in developed markets. Jio is a 490-million-strong family, reflecting our customers’ immense trust and loyalty. And each Jio customer, on average, uses over 30 GB of data monthly, driving a 33% growth in our data traffic over the past year.

Over 85 percent of the 5G radio cells operating in India belong to Jio. Jio is the only operator in India, and among the first globally, to fully harness 5G’s power. In just two years, over 130 million customers have embraced Jio True 5G. This achievement has transformed India from being 5G-dark to 5G-bright, creating one of the world’s most advanced 5G networks.

We have done this while maintaining the highest service quality and setting new benchmarks on the global stage. In eight years, Jio has grown to become the world’s largest mobile data company.

One of the most gratifying aspects of Jio’s journey is that our own technology powers everything we have achieved. From the start, we knew that leading the digital revolution required innovation, not just integration.

Jio’s success is rooted in its fully homegrown 5G stack, along with its in-house developed Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS). Jio is among India’s largest patent holders, with over 350 patents in 5G and 6G technologies alone. These patents are crucial for securing Jio’s place at the forefront of global innovation.

Jio Brain AI service platform. To streamline AI adoption, Jio is developing a comprehensive suite of tools and platforms that span the entire AI lifecycle. We call this Jio Brain.

Jio Brain enables us to accelerate AI adoption across Jio, driving faster decisions, more accurate predictions, and better understanding of customer needs. We are also starting to use Jio Brain to drive a similar transformation across other Reliance operating companies, and to fast-track their AI journey as well.
BCS Bureau