Tag: Mathew Oommen

  • Jio hops onto SpaceX’s StarLink bandwagon close on the heels of Airtel

    Jio hops onto SpaceX’s StarLink bandwagon close on the heels of Airtel

    MUMBAI:  In a strategic move that follows arch-rival Airtel’s recent partnership, Jio Platforms has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s satellite internet services to Indian customers.

    The agreement, announced Wednesday, will see India’s data traffic heavyweight join forces with the world’s leading low Earth orbit satellite operator in a partnership that promises to reach even the most remote corners of the subcontinent.

    “This deal isn’t just about connecting the unconnected—it’s about transforming digital access,” says an industry analyst. “With Airtel and now Jio partnering with Starlink, SpaceX has strategically orchestrated its entry into one of the world’s most competitive telecom, internet and data delivery markets.”

    Jio’s retail network will soon showcase Starlink equipment alongside installation and activation support, creating a significant expansion of connectivity options that complement existing JioAirFiber and JioFiber services.

    Mathew Oommen, group chief executive at Reliance Jio, emphasized the company’s mission to provide “affordable and high-speed broadband” to all Indians, while Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership—pending government authorisation. “We are looking forward to  to provide more people, organisations and businesses with access to Starlink’s high-speed internet services.”

    The satellite internet competition has intensified in India, with both telecom giants now aligning with Elon Musk’s constellation. Industry watchers suggest this competition could revolutionise connectivity across rural India, where terrestrial infrastructure has traditionally been inadequate.

    Beyond immediate internet provisions, both companies are exploring additional collaborative ventures to boost India’s digital ecosystem in what Oommen described as “this AI-driven era.”

    For millions of Indians lacking reliable internet access, these satellite partnerships promise to be a significant breakthrough—one that now has not just one, but two major telecom providers driving forward.

  • Reliance Jio’s IAX project to land in the Maldives

    Reliance Jio’s IAX project to land in the Maldives

    Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm has announced that it will land the next generation multi-terabit India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable system in Hulhumale, Maldives.

    The high capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect Hulhumale’ directly with the world’s major internet hubs in India and Singapore.

    “This is the first stride towards enhancing our connectivity infrastructure and opening vast opportunities for our people through providing secure, affordable and high-quality services,” said minister of economic development Uz Fayyaz Ismail. “We also aim to diversify our economy and establish ourselves as a key communications hub in South Asia. Aside from economic development, this will accelerate social development through high-speed internet access throughout the Maldives allowing us to attain the equitable development we seek.”

    “Today’s global economy is driven by low-latency broadband, connecting people, businesses, content, and services. IAX will not only connect Maldives to the world’s content hubs, but it will also support the explosive growth in data demand expected from the new initiatives being launched by the government of Maldives,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen. “Jio is very pleased to be working with the government of the Maldives to help realize this ambition by providing high-quality, terabit capacity supporting Web 3.0-capable internet services.”

    The IAX system originates in Mumbai in the west and connects directly to Singapore, with branches including additional landings in India, Malaysia, and Thailand. The India- Europe-Xpress (IEX) system connects Mumbai to Milan, landing in Savona, Italy, and includes additional landings in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. IAX is expected to be ready for service by the end-2023, while IEX will be ready for service in mid-2024.

    These high capacity and high-speed systems will provide more than 200Tb/s of capacity at speeds of 100Gb/s, over 16,000 kilometers. Employing open system technology and the latest wavelength switched RoADM/branching units ensures rapid upgrade deployment and the ultimate flexibility to add/drop waves across multiple locations.

    “IEX and IAX together will be one of the most important developments in telecommunications infrastructure in this decade, linking India, Europe to Southeast Asia, and now the Maldives,” said the statement.

  • 5G to challenge 4G services: Jio President

    5G to challenge 4G services: Jio President

    MUMBAI: With time, third generation services (3G) were replaced by fourth generation services (4G) and Reliance Jio played a vital role in the transforming phase. And once again India’s youngest telecom company is eager to quickly roll out the ultra-fast fifth generation services (5G).

    While speaking to the Economic Times, Jio president Mathew Oommen spoke about the challenges which 4G will face after the deployment of 5G.

    Oommen explained, “Once 5G digital services arrive, business will be based on the actual value that the telcos offer a consumer in terms of digital solutions, content, and services.”

    He briefed about traditional pricing models being revamped, “4G will be challenged by the imminent wave of 5G services that will no longer be charged based on minutes, bits or bytes anymore.” Rather telcos would adapt to a new pricing mechanism which would look to measure the “overall revenue per subscriber” for a combination of digital services.

    With that being said, Jio believes that it’s high time for telcos to “either disrupt the marketplace or face disruption”.

    Oommen stated that “normalcy would soon get restored” in the telecom sector as once the telcos catch up with the technological advancement which will only increase usage that would drive compensation from newer services.

    The 5G spectrum allocations will take place by the second half of 2019 according to the government. Jio Chairman Mukesh Ambani recently had said that India would be ready for 5G services by 2020. Jio has indicated its eagerness to roll out 5G services as it seeks an early auction of 5G airwaves, whereas Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea want the auction dates to be pushed back to late-2019 and 2020, respectively.

  • Jio launches 25k-km 100Gbps submarine cable system

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio), the largest 4G and mobile broadband digital services provider in India, has announced the launch of the Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable system.

    AAE-1, the longest 100Gbps technology based submarine system, will stretch over 25,000 km from Marseille, France to Hong Kong, with 21 cable landings across Asia and Europe. This large scale project is the combined work of leading telecom service providers from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. With diversified Points of Presence

    (PoP) in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) and three onward connectivity options in Europe (via France, Italy and Greece), AAE-1 will provide the requisite flexibility and diversity for carriers and their customers.

    AAE-1 will pass through the critical hubs, serving the increasing demand for video centric data bandwidth supporting all types of communications, applications, and content within India and beyond. AAE-1 links seamlessly with other cable systems and fiber networks to deliver direct access to all global markets.

    “The new terabit capacity and 100Gbps direct connectivity to global content hubs and interconnection points ensure that Jio will continue to offer its customers the most exceptional high speed internet and digital service experience,” said Jio president Mathew Oommen.

    “We are excited to participate in the launch and deliver the cable landing in Mumbai at the time when India’s data traffic continues its accelerated data consumption and growth.”

    Due to its advanced design and route, AAE-1 provides one of the lowest latency routes between Hong Kong, India, Middle East and Europe with the fewest hops.

    Jio provides the Network Operations & Management for AAE-1 Cable System. The AAE-1 NOC, managed by Jio, leverages the state of the art facility in Navi Mumbai along-with its advanced tools and automation.

  • Cisco & Jio to build world’s largest all-IP 5G-ready platform

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio is collaborating with Cisco to further expand Jio’s existing multi-terabit capacity, first all-IP converged network.

    With this network, Jio offers a unique combination of high-speed data, mobile video, VoLTE, digital commerce, media, cloud, and payment services. It is the first network of its kind globally with the fastest growth to 100 million broadband and VoLTE customers, reaching the milestone within six months of launch. With the Cisco All-IP network, Jio will help deliver the vision of Digital India and transform the delivery of citizen services from transportation, utilities and financial inclusion to entertainment, agriculture, education, and healthcare in the country.

    Cisco forecasts that mobile data traffic will grow 7-fold from 2016 to 20211. Technology has become the biggest driver of economic development in India. Jio network has exceeded consumption of more than 1 exabyte of data per month, establishing its clear leadership as the dominant data network.

    The Jio All-IP digital platform is a result of co-innovation around product and services between the two companies. It is built on Cisco’s Open Network Architecture and Cloud Scale Networking technologies featuring IP/MPLS, spanning areas including Data Center, Wi-Fi, Security and Contact Center solutions.

    The All-IP network is built for the ever-increasing volumes of data, and its promise to shape the future of India, with end-to-end digital solutions and broadband for all. Jio has more than 185,000 miles (or 300,000 KM) of fiber, and built India’s largest cloud data center to build platforms for applications and vertical solutions. Since its launch, Jio has accelerated India’s monthly user data consumption 40 times, the highest in the world. With the advanced All-IP network, Jio offers a premium broadband service at U.S. $0.15/GB, making it the most affordable in the world.

    Jio’s infrastructure and CDN extends beyond geographical boundaries of India into Singapore, France, London, New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. With this Jio has direct interconnect with global carriers and content providers enabling low-latency and high-quality experience for users in India.
    “We at Jio have been able to fundamentally impact how people leverage technology in their everyday lives by delivering inclusive and affordable broadband across India,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen.

    “As part of our journey in fulfilling the aspirations of the nation to be a key transformational agent in Digital Adoption and Leadership, Cisco has been a great partner for in building this highly scalable cloud centric All-IP Digital Services Network Platform meeting unprecedented data growth.”

    “We share the vision with Reliance Jio for an open, programmable infrastructure to simplify, automate and virtualize core network functions in order to digitize faster,” said Cisco senior vice president & general manager – service provider business Yvette Kanouff. “This network marks a milestone, transforming the mobility business in India by delivering a broad range of mobile apps and services from one common platform.”

    Cisco is building the simplified, automated and virtualized network platform of the future based on industry-leading software, systems, silicon and services. This enables service providers, media and web companies worldwide to reduce costs, speed time-to-market, secure their networks and sustain profitable growth.

    Also Read :

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/enews/convergence-17-planetcast-plans-virtualised-broadcast-cyient-lauds-jam-170210

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/videocon-d2h-enhances-video-expereince-with-cisco-virtual-dcm-160902

  • Jio brings ‘Pokeman Go’ to India; ties up with Niantic

    Jio brings ‘Pokeman Go’ to India; ties up with Niantic

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm today delighted Indian gamers by bringing the sought-after, first-of-its-kind, Augmented Reality game ‘Pokémon GO’ to India in a partnership withNiantic, Inc.- publisher and developer of Pokémon GO in association with The Pokémon Company. With this partnership, thousands of Reliance Digital Stores and select partner premises in India will appear as ‘PokéStops’ or ‘Gyms’ in the Pokémon GO game beginning 14 December, 2016.

    This launch is in line with Jio’s mission to empower Indians with opportunities that are fuelled by the power of data and a Digital Life and to delight them on an ongoing basis with entertainment-based apps, such as ‘Pokémon GO,’ the leading app in the gaming category.

    “We are delighted to partner with Jio to launch Pokémon GO in India,” said Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke. “It’s exciting to see Pokémon fans in India step out and explore their neighbourhoods in search of Pokémon and Jio’s disruptive high speed 4G LTE Network will be an excellent way to experience the game.”

    The two companies will work together to bring Indians a richer and more enjoyable mobile entertainment experience for Pokémon GO, including activating Jio retail locations and charging stations as PokéStops and Gyms within the game and allowing Indians to catch, train, and battle at any of Jio’s outlets throughout the country.

    On Jio’s social messaging app, JioChat, Pokémon players have access to an exclusive Pokémon Go Channel. The Pokémon Go Channel will enable Pokémon Go players to collaborate and be part of an exciting community of players with daily tips, contests, clues, and special events. The Pokémon Go Channel on JioChat a fun way to socialize with other players and level-up faster.

    “With over 500 million downloads globally, we are excited to launch Pokémon GO officially in India on the Reliance Jio network,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen. “Our partnership with Niantic not only brings access to the Pokémon GO app but also opens the door to more opportunities for our customers to enjoy content on Jio’s one-of-a-kind mobile broadband network.”

    The partnership puts Pokémon GO players on a world-class all-IP data strong network, and during the Happy New Year Offer, Jio SIM customers will be able to download and play Pokémon GO without incurring data charges, like any other apps and content, till 31 March 2017.

  • Jio brings ‘Pokeman Go’ to India; ties up with Niantic

    Jio brings ‘Pokeman Go’ to India; ties up with Niantic

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm today delighted Indian gamers by bringing the sought-after, first-of-its-kind, Augmented Reality game ‘Pokémon GO’ to India in a partnership withNiantic, Inc.- publisher and developer of Pokémon GO in association with The Pokémon Company. With this partnership, thousands of Reliance Digital Stores and select partner premises in India will appear as ‘PokéStops’ or ‘Gyms’ in the Pokémon GO game beginning 14 December, 2016.

    This launch is in line with Jio’s mission to empower Indians with opportunities that are fuelled by the power of data and a Digital Life and to delight them on an ongoing basis with entertainment-based apps, such as ‘Pokémon GO,’ the leading app in the gaming category.

    “We are delighted to partner with Jio to launch Pokémon GO in India,” said Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke. “It’s exciting to see Pokémon fans in India step out and explore their neighbourhoods in search of Pokémon and Jio’s disruptive high speed 4G LTE Network will be an excellent way to experience the game.”

    The two companies will work together to bring Indians a richer and more enjoyable mobile entertainment experience for Pokémon GO, including activating Jio retail locations and charging stations as PokéStops and Gyms within the game and allowing Indians to catch, train, and battle at any of Jio’s outlets throughout the country.

    On Jio’s social messaging app, JioChat, Pokémon players have access to an exclusive Pokémon Go Channel. The Pokémon Go Channel will enable Pokémon Go players to collaborate and be part of an exciting community of players with daily tips, contests, clues, and special events. The Pokémon Go Channel on JioChat a fun way to socialize with other players and level-up faster.

    “With over 500 million downloads globally, we are excited to launch Pokémon GO officially in India on the Reliance Jio network,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen. “Our partnership with Niantic not only brings access to the Pokémon GO app but also opens the door to more opportunities for our customers to enjoy content on Jio’s one-of-a-kind mobile broadband network.”

    The partnership puts Pokémon GO players on a world-class all-IP data strong network, and during the Happy New Year Offer, Jio SIM customers will be able to download and play Pokémon GO without incurring data charges, like any other apps and content, till 31 March 2017.

  • Reliance Jio expands India’s connectivity to the world through BBG

    Reliance Jio expands India’s connectivity to the world through BBG

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio announced the launch of a new, state of the art 8,100 km cable system, the Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG). 

    BBG provides direct connectivity to South East Asia and the Middle East, then onward to Europe, Africa and Far East Asia through seamless interconnection with existing cable systems. 

    Reliance Jio owns and operates the strategically important undersea cable landing facility in Chennai, providing a high-speed, high-capacity, low latency route connecting India to the rest of the world.“

    “We are excited about the launch of BBG as it offers not just direct connectivity in and out of India through Chennai and Mumbai but also acts as a state-of-the-art 100 Gbps extension of Jio’s 100 Gbps core network,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen. 

    He further added, “This global connectivity brings key international content hubs closer to our customers, delivering a much richer experience as an important part of driving India’s broadband adoption, enabling consumers to shift away from the current high-cost low value propositions.”

    Providing robust, reliable, low latency connectivity, BBG strengthens one of the fastest growing global internet routes. BBG has deployed the latest submarine cable 100Gbps transmission technology, utilizing wavelength add/drop branching units along the route, with an initial equipped capacity of 9 terabits per second. In addition to Reliance Jio, the BBG partners include: Dialog Axiata, Etisalat, Omantel, Telecom Malaysia, and Vodafone.

  • Reliance Jio expands India’s connectivity to the world through BBG

    Reliance Jio expands India’s connectivity to the world through BBG

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio announced the launch of a new, state of the art 8,100 km cable system, the Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG). 

    BBG provides direct connectivity to South East Asia and the Middle East, then onward to Europe, Africa and Far East Asia through seamless interconnection with existing cable systems. 

    Reliance Jio owns and operates the strategically important undersea cable landing facility in Chennai, providing a high-speed, high-capacity, low latency route connecting India to the rest of the world.“

    “We are excited about the launch of BBG as it offers not just direct connectivity in and out of India through Chennai and Mumbai but also acts as a state-of-the-art 100 Gbps extension of Jio’s 100 Gbps core network,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen. 

    He further added, “This global connectivity brings key international content hubs closer to our customers, delivering a much richer experience as an important part of driving India’s broadband adoption, enabling consumers to shift away from the current high-cost low value propositions.”

    Providing robust, reliable, low latency connectivity, BBG strengthens one of the fastest growing global internet routes. BBG has deployed the latest submarine cable 100Gbps transmission technology, utilizing wavelength add/drop branching units along the route, with an initial equipped capacity of 9 terabits per second. In addition to Reliance Jio, the BBG partners include: Dialog Axiata, Etisalat, Omantel, Telecom Malaysia, and Vodafone.