Here's what you can expect from a new Jio GigaFiber broadband connection

Jio officially started its broadband services on August 15, 2018, when it kicked off registrations for the service. As it turned out, this Jio GigaFiber service received a massive response from people across the country.
Almost a year on, and months of testing later, the service is all set to be rolled out commercially in as many as 1,600 towns starting September 5. 

In its beta phase as of now, Jio GigaFiber is the next big project for Reliance Jio after the company launched its telecommunication services in 2016.

As per Jio, the telecom operator had received over 15 million registrations from during the beta phase and now, the company claims that it will be reaching out commercially to 20 million residents within these towns in the next 12 months. 

The company currently has 5 lakh homes connected and these homes will soon be getting access to Jio's digital set-top box, a phone connection and a 1 GBPS broadband connection -- all powered by the core Jio GigaFiber FTTH broadband service.

Ahead of its launch, here's what you need to know about the broadband service. 

Technology

The broadband service operates on a platform that uses FTTH connectivity and as such promises fast internet connection but at competitive rates. Much like Reliance Jio's phone services, Jio GigaFiber appears to be too good a deal to pass on. 

Plans

Although Jio is offering a free of cost preview offer, for now, it needs to be noted that as of now Jio GigaFiber is only providing a single plan with a stringent FUP limit on it. 

Under the Jio style introductory offer, Jio GigaFiber will be offered to select users for free for the first 90 days. Under the preview offer, users will get a 100 MBPS connection capped to a 100GB FUP limit. However, this 100GB cap can be extended by users through free of cost sachet recharges which add 40GB of data to users every day. 

After the commercial launch, JioGigaFiber has been announced to start at a starting price of Rs 700 and has been announced to bring plans that go up to Rs 10,000 in terms of price. The base plan will start with 100 MBPS speed, while the higher-priced plans will bring speeds up to 1 GBPS (1000 MBPS).

Cost of JioGigaFiber router

Unlike Reliance Jio's telecom offering which was entirely free for users under the preview offer, users are currently paying a refundable sum of Rs 4,500 for the high-speed Jio GigaFiber router that in the future could be used to provide users with Gigabit speed (1000 MBPS) connections. 

Landline service

Jio GigaFiber being an ultra-fast FTTH service has also been promised to be supplemented with a bouquet of services in the future. The company plans to extend wired landline, as well as Jio TV services to users through the Jio GigaHub. These services have already been extended to Jio employees using this service and will be extended to other users under the preview offer in the coming days. 

Performance

In terms of speed, Jio currently promises up to 100MBPS speed over ethernet and 5Ghz WiFi networks and 50MBPS over the more conventional 2.4Ghz wireless network. Once commercial, certain plans will take these speeds up to 1000MBPS.

Access to smart-home services

Although still under planning, for users thinking about getting a Jio Gigafiber connection an important thing to consider is that Jio's broadband service in the future will also bring with it a suite of Jio smart-home services and devices that could be used to turn your home smart in a matter of minutes. 

Reliance Jio's CEO Mukesh Ambani also revealed in the past that in the future, the company plans to bring Jio SmartHome Accessories suite which will include an audio-video dongle, smart speaker, Wi-Fi extender, smart plug and security products. The company also plans to launch smoke sensors, smart video doorbells as well as other security accessories for homes under this line-up.