Jio GigaFiber and Reliance Jio VoWifi to be Launched in the Coming Year?

Jio GigaFiber and the hype surrounding it is still at its peak. Nevertheless, according to latest reports, Reliance Jio consumers may have yet another reason to look forward to the coming year. Reliance is now apparently testing the Jio VoWifi services and is in its advanced stages at that.

Reliance Jio, which is probably one of the first companies to realize the potential of data, has always been at the forefront to provide affordable data plans in the telecom sector and based on a report in Telecomtalk.info, the company might now rollout Reliance Jio VoWifi services in the coming year.

The report, based on a screenshot shared by one its readers, mentions that the service has been spotted testing in Madhya Pradesh apart from cities like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. The report also mentions that the Jio VoWifi services will as of now be limited to its own network (Jio to Jio), and will later expand to other networks.

What is VoWifi?

VoWifi or the voice over Wifi is a Voice over IP service (VoIP). VoWifi is in fact complementary to the VoLTE services. VoWifi enables consumers with the ability to make calls over any Internet accessible devices such as laptops, PDAs (personal digital assistants), tablets, desktops, mobiles or VoWifi units. The main advantages of the VoWifi services are cheaper local and international calls and free calls to other VoWifi units. The services do not require mobile connectivity in order to be operational.

Is the VoWifi Service Available in India?

BSNL was the first company to bring VoWifi to India with BSNL Wings. BSNL Wings allows its customers to make calls to any phone number across the country, irrespective of the receiver’s network provider. To use the service, customer needs to install a SIP client (soft app) on any of its smart devices that has Internet, which will act as SIP phone to make and receive calls from anywhere in India. The service will shortly be extended to make international calls as well on tariff basis, as per the BSNL website.

Jio GigaFiber Launch

Jio GigaFiber is already being rolled out in a phased manner and the area with maximum invites for the service are getting to enjoy the high speed FTTH services on priority basis. The Jio GigaFiber service is yet to see its commercial launch, which may happen in the first of 2019 as per some reports. Jio GigaFiber installation is being done free of charge but users opting for it will have to pay a security deposit of Rs 4500 that is completely refundable. Jio GigaTV or Jio DTH set-top box, which will come along with Jio GigaFiber services, will also offer Ultra HD entertainment, multi-party video conferencing, voice activated virtual assistant, virtual reality gaming, shopping and smart home solutions.