• Reliance Jio unveils 4K set top box
  • Fibre broadband launch in early September
  • Microsoft tie up for cloud services

Reliance Jio mobile credit Piotr Swat shutterstock

Reliance Jio: To launch 4K set top box in partnership with Microsoft

Source: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock

Reliance Jio has confirmed the launch date for its fibre broadband offering along with a 4K set-top box and a cloud services partnership with Microsoft.

Reliance Jio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, has some 340 million subscribers, making it’s the country’s largest mobile operator by subscribers.

GigaFiber, the company’s fibre broadband offering, will include access to television channels, fixed-line telephone calling and video conferencing. The set top box, which will be offered free of charge fibre customers from September 5, can be used for gaming as well as watching TV and film.

During the company’s annual general meeting yesterday Reliance launched GigaTV, a streaming service which Reliance said already has some 600 TV channels. Reliance Jio said it is also working with game publishers including Tencent, Gameloft and Microsoft.

Microsoft cloud deal
Reliance described the tie-up with Microsoft as a “long-term strategic relationship aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of the Indian economy and society”.

It will include connectivity, computing, storage solutions and other services and applications that cover the range of Reliance Industries businesses, which span textiles, oil and gas, petrochemicals, retail and its Jio mobile, broadband and content offering.

Chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani said: “This is a unique and first-of-its-kind partnership that brings the capabilities of two large companies focused on creating significant value to Indian enterprises — small and large.

“By working together to develop innovative and affordable cloud-enabled digital solutions built around Jio’s world-class digital infrastructure and Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, we will accelerate the digitisation of the Indian economy and make Indian businesses globally competitive.”

According to Reuters, “the cloud services partnership with Microsoft Corp underscores Ambani’s ambitions to go toe-to-toe with Amazon which offers cloud services in India and is also one of the country’s biggest online retailers”.