Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire who changed the face of telecom in India in the last two years, said he has set his eyes on replicating his success in wireless telecom in the sphere of wired telecom as well.
He said the 4G services launched by Reliance Jio has helped India move from the 155th of the world in terms of mobile data penetration to No.1 in terms of overall consumption.
“Now,” he said, referring to his Jio GigaFiber initiative, “we have a similar opportunity to replicate this success in the fixed broadband and more.
“Today India is at the rank of 135th [in fixed broadband]. In a few years time, we can be in the top three in the world in fixed broadband as well,” he promised.
He said his company, which is estimated to carry about 60% of the wireless data in India, is committed to setting up a “deep fiber network” across the country.
5G & AI
He also said that India will be ‘fully 4G’ in another two years and ‘ready for 5G’ ahead of other countries. “Every phone in India will be 4G-enabled.”
“In the past eight months alone, as many as 50 mln villagers have got affordable smartphones,” he said.
He pointed out that it is also their first phone, music player, first TV, first camera and the first internet access device in their lives.
“Imagine, how it can transform India when it becomes six in one, with Indians getting the revolutionary power of their first artificial intelligence services in their hands.
He said India will have fixed-mobile convergence that will enable users to move seamlessly from 4G and 5G outdoors and wifi indoors.