Reliance Jio FAQ

Back in 2002, when Reliance launched India’s first CDMA based mobile network, it was a sensation. I still remember the LG RD2030 handset that was offered at a throw away rate and a monthly specific rental (in line with how American carriers operate). The call rate and SMS rate was super low and everyone wanted to have a cellphone. I tried a lot to convince my parents to get me a cellphone but (good for me) my parents insisted that I should concentrate on studies and that was not the time to use a cell phone. More than a decade later, here I am, trying out the network that is going to disrupt the market. In this post, I will be reviewing the LYF Wind 1 smartphone and doing a preview of the Reliance Jio network. I cannot call this Jio network review as the network is not yet stressed and is not yet ready for commercial launch. Here are a few things that you need to about Jio network.

Why is Jio making waves?

Non-VoLTE 4G network: Data is passed through 4G network while voice calls are passed through older 2G or 3G circuit switched voice network.

VoLTE 4G network : Everything is considered as data. Voice calls, data, messages pass through faster data network. Users can place HD voice calls that offer much higher voice clarity. But for this to happen, both caller and receiver should have compatible phones (that support VoLTE), both should be on VoLTE network and the call should be a VoLTE call. Carriers can also enable high quality video calling, video voicemail etc without depending on 3rd party applications like Skype, Hangouts, Facetime etc. These calls can be made right from the phone’s dialer.

When is Jio getting commercial launch?

There is no specific date set yet. Our SIM is activated with preview offer which will be valid till 5th of October 2016. According to the executive, once the trial period is over, if commercial launch is delayed, the preview offer will get reset for another 3 months.

How to get a Jio SIM

Till recently, one needed an invite from Reliance Jio employee to get a Jio SIM card. Now, you can walk into any Reliance store, buy a LYF mobile and ask for a Jio preview SIM. You will get 75GB of data, 4500 minutes of calls and 9000 SMSes free (for 90 days). There are no roaming charges either.

So, walk in to a Reliance digital store, provide address proof, ID proof and a passport size photo and you will be enrolled into the preview program. For us, it took around 3 hours for the SIM to get activated. Once you get a message that the number is activated, you need to call 1977 and do a simple verification. Once the verification is done, the preview package is enabled.

Will Jio SIM work with other phones
No, the Jio SIM is locked to LYF phones only. We tried the SIM in a Le Max 2 and it did not work. Once the trial period is over, once you are on a proper postpaid or prepaid plan, you can use the SIM in any phone but do not expect this much of free calls/messages/data (unless you pay accordingly).

What are these LYF phones?

LYF is a new brand of smartphones, launched by Reliance. There are more than a dozen models available to choose from. The starting price for these is 2999/- and every phones is 4G LTE supported with VoLTE support. Do note that the basic phones come with 512MB RAM etc and we would not recommend getting these as Android is not supposed to run on 512MB of RAM.

Why is the network locked to LYF phones?

Well, Reliance is still deploying and ‘testing’ Jio network. Their main goal is to see how the network behaves when everyone is using VoLTE and using 4G for data. If they allow users to use any phone to use on their network, majority of the network will work in ‘legacy’ mode given the lack of VoLTE handsets in use in India. This will also let them optimize their own branded phones to work best on their network. There are some other stories floating where this is the a good way to keep ‘Average Revenue Per User’ above the minimum value. Given that Reliance has spent a truckload of money (1.5 Lac crore rupees) to get onboard, Rs.300 ARPU per month is needed to break free (current ARPU in India is Rs.165/-) (as per http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/will-reliance-jio-disrupt-the-market-with-4g/article8776017.ece).

Do you recommend buying a LYF phone just for the Jio preview

Unless you are a blogger or a product reviewer, we strongly recommend that you wait for the commercial launch. As of now, LYF phones are overpriced and there are much better alternatives that will work better with Jio network (after commercial launch of Jio). The Wind 1 that we are testing is priced at 6,799/- and when compared to a phone like LeEco 1S Eco which is priced at 8k or Coolpad 3 Lite, the Wind 1 is pretty inferior in every area. The ROM is laggy and has lot of bugs. If you really want to buy a new phone, choose a phone that comes with VoLTE support, buy it and wait for commercial launch of Jio. If your current network is solid (usually considered a myth in India), you can wait for your carrier to deploy VoLTE.

How fast is Jio network?

In most areas that we tested in Bangalore, the speeds were north of 20MBps and the max speed that we registered is 52.22 MBps. The minimum speed we saw was 2.5MBps and never once did speedtest fail.

Will it remain this fast?

Cannot say as we do not know the scalability of the network and one major factor is ‘how many users will join Jio family?’. As of now, the network is not at all congested and the towers are not tested. Once the commercial launch is done, as more and more ‘data hungry’ users hit the network, the speeds may come down. We need to wait and see how scalable the network is.

If you have any other questions, add them to the comments section and we will try our best to answer.