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<keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> has started selling its 4G enabled Lyf smartphones and has also rolled out a host of offers with it. 
 
Reliance Jio is offering free unlimited data for first three months with 4,500 minutes of voice calls. 
 
The Lyf smartphones are available in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. 
 
The Mukesh Ambani-led company is likely to launch the network commercially now. 
 
Jio is expected to disrupt the market and its low cost offerings may hurt other telecom companies such as Airtel, Idea, Vodafone, etc. 
ET quoted some store executives saying the 4G cards were available since last week. 
 
Jio's strategy and planning head Anshuman Thakur told ET that the company was awaiting the integration of spectrum that it expects to get from the sharing-and-trading pact with RCom.

Few steps away from formal launch? Reliance Jio is rolling out its 4G-backed Lyf smartphones for consumers

Incumbent telcos got into a fight with new entrant <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> over the matter of transparency of tariff plans at the open house discussion held by the <keyword id="30356" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Telecom-Regulatory-Authority-of-India">Telecom Regulatory Authority of India</keyword> (<keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword>). Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> said that some offers, especially counter offers used to retain subscribers, should be kept confidential so that competitors can’t take advantage of the strategies. However, Jio was of the view that all plans should be made public on a common platform to maintain transparency. Telcos also demanded that they be allowed to segregate between new and existing users while offering tariff plans, adding that retention offers, which are more of less in the form of discounts, were not arbitrary and are instead based on several parameters including average revenue per user and customer loyalty. TRAI would most likely issue an order or guidelines in the coming 30 days on these issues. "When a customer wants to leave - going out of a continued relationship between customer and operator - this is the fundamental right of the operator to retain that customer, and it is not only specific to telecom industry... it is there for any industry where you can match the offer (from a rival)," said <keyword id="202324" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ravi-Gandhi">Ravi Gandhi</keyword>, regulatory head of Bharti Airtel. However, <keyword id="700571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anshuman-Thakur">Anshuman Thakur</keyword>, head of strategy and planning at Reliance Jio disagreed to Gandhi’s view. "Current measures for transparency are not adequate because the specification of transparency in the industry is not consistent, therefore we again urge that all plans that are being offered by telcos are published in a common platform and people can see the plans, and nothing beyond those plans is offered to anyone else," Thakur said. "The customer should be able to choose what's best for him, because they're the ones paying. Only the authority can offer this," he added. It’s just been a few days that TRAI barred carriers from offering different plans to same-category subscribers. As per <keyword id="133375" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajan-Mathews">Rajan Mathews</keyword>, Director General of <keyword id="105151" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cellular-Operators-Association-of-India">Cellular Operators Association of India</keyword>, a distinction needs to be made between acquisition of a new customer and retention of an existing customer while making offers. (Image source The Quint)

Airtel and Jio fight over transparency in tariffs at TRAI open house

New <keyword id="66" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword>, Apr 22 () <keyword id="6354576" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and <keyword id="2003276" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> will look to drive synergies and areas of collaboration but the mega deal does not mean that the two sides will not compete in the market, officials said on Wednesday. "The construct of this collaboration is not meant to be exclusive," <keyword id="3056724" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajit-Mohan">Ajit Mohan</keyword>, vice-president and managing director of Facebook India, told reporters via a concall after the US-based social media giant announced an investment of Rs 43,574 crore to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The two sides "genuinely believe" there are exciting opportunities to work together and broaden the avenue for economic expansion, with first focus on small businesses, Mohan said. To a query on whether Facebook could also look at other partnerships on the retail side with companies, say, Amazon or Flipkart, Mohan said, "The platforms remain open... it is non-exclusive and it is not meant to keep anyone away." Elaborating on the deal, Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy, Reliance Jio, said, "At this point, we have identified merchant, SME (small and medium enterprise) commerce as something we can collaborate and we can benefit from what WhatApp already does very well... We will similarly find areas where the skill sets may be more complementary but this investment or partnership does not mean that we will not compete in the market." He added, "There will be things where we will be directly competing with each other also in the market, the entities are independent of each other in every respect." The deal does not, in any way, amend or change business models for the companies, he said. "We have our suite of products and services, the same way that Facebook has its own suite of products and services and we are going to make best use for our respective companies," Thakur added. Facebook will get a seat on board on Jio Platform Ltd, the company it is investing in, along with an observer seat. Once the investment comes in, Rs 15,000 crore will be retained in Jio Platforms Ltd while the rest will be used to redeem OCPS (optionally convertible preference shares) of <keyword id="6487" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries-Ltd">Reliance Industries Ltd</keyword>. "In that sense, the entire amount does go to reduce debt of the Group... Jio Platforms Ltd has been valued at an enterprise value of Rs 4.62 lakh crore. The debt in the company is around Rs 40,000 crore. With this investment, Rs 15000 crore will be retained in the company and balance will be used to redeem OCPS investments of RIL in this company," he said. The net debt of Jio Platforms will correspondingly reduce because of cash which is retained in the company, he pointed out. PRS MBI HRS

Facebook and Reliance Jio will still compete with each other in the market says FB India MD Ajit Mohan

(Eds: Adding word in header) New Delhi, Apr 22 () Reliance Industries' telecom arm Jio and social media major Facebook will continue to oppose each other over internet calls and messaging services despite the Rs 43,574-crore investment deal signed between the two companies. Telecom operators, including Reliance Jio, have been demanding "same service same rules" regime which means that mobile applications providing calls and messaging services should also be made to comply with set of rules that are mandatory for mobile service providers. Mobile app companies providing complimentary calls and messages have opposed the same. "Both Facebook and Jio are independent companies. We will have our independent views. There will be areas where we will collaborate and there will be areas where we will differ and compete. There is no change in what we think about business. We don't expect it from Facebook either. So no changes or nothing to really comment on those aspects," Reliance Jio head of strategy Anshuman Thakur told . He was replying to a question that whether there will be change in the stance of the company with Facebook coming on the board of Jio Platforms with 9.9 per cent stake. Facebook too echoed the same thought that differences will continue on the issue of "same service same rules" between both the companies. "As excited as we are about collaborating, I think we also expect that there will be areas where we compete. We are showing alignment on opportunity to work together to have positive impact for small businesses particularly. I do agree that there will be areas where we disagree as well," Facebook India vice president and managing director Ajit Mohan said. Earlier in the day, Facebook announced an investment of USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in the firm that houses Ambani's telecom arm Jio as the social media giant looks to expand presence in its largest market in terms of subscriber base."We have made a minority investments in Jio Platforms. We are excited about that canvas. We do think it will be really good for the ecosystem at large. We also expect that there will be areas where we won't have same point of view," Mohan said.Facebook will get a seat on board on Jio Platforms Ltd, the company it is investing in, along with an observer seat.Once the investment comes in, Rs 15,000 crore will be retained in Jio Platforms Ltd while the rest will be used to redeem OCPS (optionally convertible preference shares) of Reliance Industries Ltd."In that sense, the entire amount does go to reduce the debt of the Group... Jio Platforms Ltd has been valued at an enterprise value of Rs 4.62 lakh crore. The debt in the company is around Rs 40,000 crore. With this investment, Rs 15000 crore will be retained in the company and balance will be used to redeem OCPS investments of RIL in this company," he said.In October, Jio Platforms transferred most of the debt to its parent firm Reliance Industries Limited. The net debt of Jio Platforms will correspondingly reduce because of cash which is retained in the company, Thakur said."Jio Platforms now has very little debt which mostly pertains to spectrum liability and some commercial business," Thakur said. Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp have also entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail's new commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp. Jio Mart will look at involving local businesses starting with grocery shops before expanding in to other categories like education, health, etc. RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani after announcement of the deal said that Jio's digital connectivity platform and Facebook's relationship with the Indian people will offer innovative new solutions to all individuals in the country. "In the very near future, JioMart-Jio's Digital new commerce platform and Whatsapp will empower nearly 3 crore small Indian Kirana shops to digitally transact with every customer in their neighbourhood. This means all of you can order and get faster delivery of day-to-day items, from nearby local shops. At the same time small kiranas can row their businesses and create new employment opportunities using digital technologies," Ambani said. Thakur said that the beta version of Jio Mart has already been launched in parts of Mumbai and there is no definite time-line on it becoming completely operational due to uncertainty around the lockdown period. "We have been working on. Beta phase, in fact we have rolled out to a number of merchants in the new Bombay area and few other places. Things have been impacted because of the lockdown. Trials had to be slowed down. One doesn't know how the lockdown will be revoked. For now beta trials are going and they are going good. This will be across categories. Grocery is one segment where we are providing service to," he said. When asked about who will handle the payment part of Jio Mart app as the government has not yet allowed Whatsapp to carry out digital payments, Thakur said that the app leverages a system developed by Reliance Retail. "Jio Mart is Reliance Retail business and Jio mart has its own digital platform on which it is enabling customers and merchants to transact. We will work with Whatsapp to use the Whatsapp platform as a means to bring the merchants and customers more seamlessly," Thakur said.Facebook is also testing alternate technologies to provide internet services. The company tried to start trials for alternate technologies but could not go ahead because of regulatory reasons. Mohan declined to comment on testing those alternate technologies on the Jio network but briefly mentioned that 5G technology will be one of the area where both the entities can collaborate.He said that both the companies are trying to expand the digital ecosystem. "Why we have invested in Jio is that we are excited about what Jio has done in the last four years and what we can do. If we do bring in that energy we can bring new opportunities. Even without payments we think that the collaboration can bring a lot of value to the people," Mohan said. He said that the construct of collaboration around Jio Mart is not an exclusive arrangement between the two companies. The deal signed between the two companies needs only approval of Competition Commission of India but due to uncertainty around lockdown, Thakur said that definite time to close the deal cannot be committed. "This one comes under the automatic route for FDI. RJIL is the only licence business where 49 per cent is automatic. Only approval that we require is from CCI. We will soon approach them with our application and then whatever time it takes. They will settle the transaction and let us know," he said. With this agreement, Facebook has become the largest partner of Jio on board.Jio Platforms houses digital services of the group and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, with 388 million subscribers, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms.The Facebook deal is part of value unlocking by RIL to cut debt. RIL has been seeking strategic partnerships across its businesses while targeting to deleverage its balance sheet.It has been talking to Saudi Aramco for sale of a 20 per cent stake in its oil-to-chemical business for an asking of USD 15 billion. RIL has already tied up with BP Plc for fuel business as it targets to have a debt-free status by next year.Jio had also been reportedly talking separately to Google but the fate of those discussions is not known.The latest deal is a win-win for both Facebook and Jio. It would give Facebook deeper access to India, the second largest internet market after China.Facebook already has 400-plus million Whatsapp users in India and is looking to launch a payment offering. Having a local partner could help it in navigating various regulatory issues, including those related to privacy and local storage. PRS MBI MKJMKJ

Jio, Facebook to continue opposing each other over internet calls, messages

New Delhi, Jul 30 () India's youngest but largest telecom firm Reliance Jio on Thursday posted a 183 per cent jump in June quarter net profit, helping its parent Reliance Industries tide over COVID-induced slowdown in oil and retail business. Net profit of Rs 2,520 crore in April-June quarter was 182.8 per cent higher than Rs 891 crore earnings a year back, the company said in a statement. The bumper earnings helped Reliance Industries post a resilient Q1 performance. RIL's main oil-to-chemical business which previously contributed bulk of company earnings was hit by coronavirus pandemic. Jio contributed over 33 per cent of consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of RIL to become the single-largest business segment by contribution. Jio added 15.1 million subscribers in spite of lockdown to take its subscriber base to 398.3 million. At a post-earning investor call, Reliance Jio head of strategy Anshuman Thakur said Jio Platforms will retain Rs 22,981 crore out of the Rs 1,52,056 crore raised from stake sale to 13 investors and the rest would go to parent RIL. The net profit growth of 183 per cent for June quarter was driven by rising subscriber base and ARPU uplift, despite the COVID crisis. The company recorded a "strong ARPU uplift" at Rs 140, Jio said in a statement. ARPU or earning per subscriber stood at Rs 130.6 in March quarter. The operating revenue for the Q1FY21 grew 33.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 16,557 crore, while the margins improved by 613 basis points to 44 per cent during the just-ended quarter. "Jio has reported strong revenue and EBITDA growth driven by sustained subscriber momentum and ARPU improvement," the company said. Jio said it has evaluated the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and has determined that there is no significant impact on its financial position and performance. For June quarter, the total wireless data traffic grew 30.2 per cent from year-ago period, and total voice traffic was up 13.2 per cent year-on-year. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said the company remains focused on playing a leading role in India's transformation into a digital society, and the company's "growth strategy is aimed at meeting the needs of all the 1.3 billion Indians". "Jio started with a vision of connecting everything by building a robust and secure wireless and digital network and extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone in India. Thirteen investors, which include the largest technology companies and investors globally, now share a common vision with us," Ambani said. Jio Platforms with partnerships across promising Indian startups and globally renowned technology companies is set to drive the next leg of hyper growth for digital businesses, he said. Earlier this month, Reliance Industries had announced that Google will pick up 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 33,737 crore. The deal also entailed a partnership between the two companies to cooperate on technology initiatives, including development of affordable smartphones. With the latest investment, California-based Alphabet Inc (parent company of Google) joined Facebook Inc, which opened the investment cycle in Jio Platforms by picking 9.99 per cent stake for Rs 43,573.62 crore. In all, Reliance has sold a 32.9 per cent stake in Jio Platforms Ltd to 13 marquee firms, including chipmaker Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, for over Rs 1.52 lakh crore. "Reliance Industries, post completion of these investments, would hold 66.48 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. Of the total investment, Jio Platforms Limited has already received Rs 1,15,694 crore as subscription amount from ten investors. Rs 22,981 crore will be retained at Jio Platforms to drive future growth," the company said. Jio said it witnessed "strong" wireless gross addition of 15.1 million during the quarter despite COVID related restrictions across the country. In fact, customer engagement increased during the quarter with nationwide lockdown, driving average wireless data consumption per user per month to 12.1 GB and average voice consumption to 756 minutes per user per month. Jio said that fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services saw pent-up demand due to the lockdown, and added that the process of converting initial test users to paid-plans is largely complete with over 1 million home users connected with the said services. Jio's results come a day after older operator Bharti Airtel reported widening of its losses to Rs 15,933 crore for June quarter -- its fifth straight quarter of loss -- as the telco made additional provision for statutory dues. During the June quarter, Airtel recorded an incremental provision of Rs 10,744.4 crore towards Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, it owes to the government. MBI ANZ BAL

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Few steps away from formal launch? Reliance Jio is rolling out its 4G-backed Lyf smartphones for consumers

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Facebook and Reliance Jio will still compete with each other in the market says FB India MD Ajit Mohan

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Jio, Facebook to continue opposing each other over internet calls, messages

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