Reliance Jio is leading in 5G network rollout in India and has deployed 40,000 sites so far, with services in 277 cities, Reliance Jio Infocomm Chairman Akash M Ambani said on Tuesday.
During a post-Budget webinar titled ‘Unleashing the potential: Ease of living using technology’, Ambani said, “Jio is leading 5G network rollouts in the country with the world’s largest standalone network architecture that is uniquely suited to cater to the requirements of True 5G technology. Jio has launched true 5G service in 277 cities across the nation, with the largest deployment of more than 40,000 sites and almost 2,50,000 cells of 5G network in 700 Mhz as well as in the 3,500 Mhz band.”
He said Jio is on the path to achieving its stated goal of increasing its 5G footprint month after month to more cities, towns, and talukas in various states/Union territories, and covering every town, taluka, and tehsil by December.
In the short list of technologies that have had a profound impact on modern societies, 5G is perhaps among the top contenders, he said.
“Many novel use cases are finding their way to market across sectors, such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities and infrastructure, entertainment and productivity,” he said.
As 5G technology continues to develop and become more widespread in coverage and adoption, one can expect more benefits and use cases that improve the standard of living. All evolving technology trends — including Internet of things (IoT), wearable technology, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) — will need a strong backbone to have a meaningful impact in shaping the digital future, he said.
“The impact of the technology is significant, and we must all, from industry, government and academia, strive towards the development and adoption of this technology in a collaborative, responsible, and ethical manner,” Ambani added.
Jio and Bharti Airtel were the first telecom operators to launch 5G services in October 2022. While Jio has not shared the number of customers, Airtel on Monday said it has crossed one-crore unique customers on its 5G network.