Jio Completes 8 Successful Years With 490 Million Strong Userbase

Jio, the popular name in the Indian telecom industry has successfully completed eight years with 490 million users. Reliance Industries started its operation back in 2015 when India had only 159 million mobile internet connections.

From offering the first 4G LTE (VoLTE)-only network to introducing the Artificial Intelligence platform - Jio Brain, RIL has come so far till 2024. By providing the Jio Welcome offer at the very first, the telecom giant has grabbed millions of users' attention and here's how Jio has made India fully digital over the past eight years.

From 2015 to 2024 Jio's Success

Reliance Jio was the first mobile operator in India to offer 4G LTE (VoLTE)-only network and international roaming services to its users. Earlier, users used to pay at least Rs 250 to get access to 1GB of 3G/4G data, while the telecom operator is now offering unlimited 5G data starting at Rs 198. Even the voice calls were also expensive and now all plans come with unlimited voice calls.

From standing in long queues in front of Jio stores to get a SIM to free home delivery and even Jio has now launched the iActivate service which allows users to activate their SIM cards from their homes, eliminating the need to visit a Jio store. The iActivate service is available for both Android and iOS smartphone users which can be accessed from the My Jio app.

In 2017, the telco entered into feature phone market with the launch of the Jio Phone. Followed by the Jio Bharat, Reliance Jio reduced the mobile connectivity gap between rural and urban India and started offering non-smartphone users a cheaper alternative to switch from 2G to 4G mobile networks.

Moreover, Reliance Jio's latest innovation JioPhonecall AI feature made users' lives much easier by enabling them to record, transcribe, summarise, and translate phone calls. Even Jio Phonecall AI can also record and store any call in Jio Cloud and automatically convert it from voice to text.

At the 47th annual general meeting (AGM) held on August 29, 2024, Reliance Industries Limited's (RIL) major announcements focused on harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technology. It has a plan to build a massive AI-ready data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

To support this ambitious AI initiative, Reliance unveiled Jio Brain, a comprehensive AI platform designed to accelerate AI adoption within the company.

By offering the cheapest prepaid plan, Jio has made everyone digital. Even after raising tariffs by up to 25 per cent for all its prepaid and postpaid users, it allows JioBharat and JioPhone users to enjoy the old tariff plans.

In February 2024, Qualcomm revealed that it is working with Reliance Jio to launch an entry-level 5G smartphone for India. The latest chipset could encourage 2G users to switch to a 5G. The Jio smartphone is said to support the 5G standalone architecture, which the telecom operator is currently offering.

The initiative aims to help many people who want to switch to a 5G smartphone under a budget. The affordable 5G phone by Jio is expected to go official under $99 (roughly Rs. 8,200) by the end of 2024.