Reliance Jio, Mukesh Ambani's
multi-billion dollar telecom venture, opens its doors to everyone from today.
After a trial period where only select users were allowed to use its network,
anyone can get a Jio SIM card from today, and all services are free to use until December 31, though Ambani
insists this is no launch and still just an extended trial.
Ambani revealed Jio's plans last week,
and the country's newest telcos has made voice calling and national roaming
free. You only pay for data on this 4G-only network, with cost per GB a
fraction of what other operators are charging at the moment.
Here's everything
you need to know about the Reliance Jio 4G network - from getting a
SIM card, to the plans, phones that will work, MNP procedure, and more.
1. How to get a Reliance Jio SIM card
Reliance Jio SIM cards will be available
to anyone from Monday, and the process of getting one is pretty simple,
though it's likely there will be huge queues at stores with everyone
trying to get their hands on a Jio SIM card, so plan accordingly. If you have
an Aadhaar card, we recommend carrying that for the eKYC process as it greatly simplifies the activation process.
2. Reliance Jio plans
Unless you've been living under a rock,
you've heard by now that Reliance Jio will not charge for voice calls and
national roaming will be free as well. Monthly prepaid plans start at Rs. 149, and they
include a certain amount of Wi-Fi data on the nationwide JioNet network and free access
to Reliance Jio's apps and services until December 2017, a package that's said
to be worth Rs. 15,000 per year according to Reliance's own estimates.
3. Reliance Jio phones
Reliance Jio is using a 4G-only network
with VoLTE technology for phone calls. This means your existing phone may not
work on it, unless it comes with 4G support. Even if you have a 4G phone,
unless it supports VoLTE, you will not be able to make voice calls, though
Reliance Jio is offering its JioJoin app as a workaround. For the full Reliance
Jio experience though, it's recommended you get a VoLTE phone. If you are not ready to switch
phones, check out JioFi, explained later in this article.
4. Reliance Jio MNP
Starting Monday, you can also port your number to Reliance Jio if you
want, though with a 90 day period where you can't switch operators after
porting in and the Jio network still in trial, you may have trouble
communicating with numbers of other networks. We recommend getting a Jio
SIM as an additional number to test out the network, but if your mind is already
made up, see our guide on how to switch to Reliance Jio using MNP.
5. Reliance Jio apps and services
Reliance Jio is pushing its apps and
services in a big way, from the JioNet app that lets you use Jio's network of Wi-Fi
hotspots, to its video-on-demand app, and a music streaming app, and more. Access to these
services will be free until December 2017, and a certain amount of data for the
Wi-Fi service will be included in all plans as mentioned earlier.
6. Reliance Jio plans fine print
While Reliance Jio's plans look great at
first glance, and they are pretty disruptive for the most part, there's a
certain amount of fine print you should know about. The welcome offer until
December 31 was said to include "unlimited 4G data", but it's capped at 4GB per day. That's a pretty generous
limit for most users - unless you were looking at Jio as replcement for your
home/ office broadband connection - but a cap nonetheless.
There's also things like the
"unlimited night data", which will come into effect once Reliance Jio
starts charging for its service post December 31, being defined as usage
between 2AM and 5AM, which is a definition of 'night' that may not align with
everyone else's. Do check out other fine print we've highlighted earlier.
7. Reliance JioFi
If you are thinking about using Reliance
Jio at home, or using it with your existing phone that doesn't support 4G, you
should check out the JioFi. Simply put, it's a 4G device with a built-in Wi-Fi
router and a battery, that can bring more than one device onto the Reliance Jio
network. It's available at Rs. 1,999and we have a simple guide that will help you get started.