There has been a lot of excitement around Reliance Jio's JioFiber FTTH broadband, its free preview offer and ultra-cheap rentals for 100Mbps internet. But the lack of information on when exactly the JioFiber is coming makes it hard to remain patient. What if you don't have to wait for JioFiber and still enjoy low-cost, high-speed broadband with up to 100Mbps speeds?
Hyderabad-based Pioneer Elabs, a two-decade-old ISP (Internet Service Provider), is offering a suitable alternative to JioFiber and every other high-speed fiber broadband services in India like ACT Fibernet and Airtel V-Fiber, with low-cost rentals and high-speed service. Pioneer Fiber broadband is currently available in Hyderabad and promises up to 100 Mbps broadband speeds for just Rs 1,299.
Pioneer broadband service provider has eight monthly plans starting at Rs 350, but the most exciting one is its 100Mbps plan that comes with 750GB monthly FUP and 4Mbps post FUP at a reasonable cost of Rs 2,000, according to a report on TelecomTalk, which states that this plan will be offered to customers requesting for a new connection even though it is not listed on the company's website.
Pioneer's 100Mbps plan work out better than the current ACT Fibernet in Hyderabad and soon-to-be-launched JioFiber. ACT's 1Gbps plan is available in Hyderabad for Rs 5,999 per month with 1TB FUP limit. That's more than twice the Pioneer's plan, but ACT gains a slight edge with its 1TB FUP limit as compared to Pioneer's 750GB FUP limit.
International Business Times, India could not independently confirm this plan along with other tariffs as the information available on the official company website lists different plans, FUP limits, and prices. We have reached out to Pioneer Elabs for further clarification on the matter and we'll update as and when we hear back.
The report further notes that Pioneer broadband plans come in two categories, VC and Unlimited. The unlimited plans with no FUP limit come in four options:
Rs 400 – 1Mbps speed
Rs 550 – 2Mbps speed
Rs 700 – 4Mbps speed
Rs 1,200 – 10Mbps speed
As for the VC plans, customers can choose from:
Rs 350 – 2Mbps speed 500GB FUP (512Kbps post limit)
Rs 500 – 5Mbps speed 140GB FUP (1Mbps post limit)
Rs 550 – 10Mbps speed 160GB FUP (1Mbps post limit)
Rs 650 – 25Mbps speed 200GB FUP (1Mbps post limit)
Rs 750 – 25Mbps speed 200GB FUP (3Mbps post limit)
Rs 1,050 – 60Mbps speed 250GB FUP (3Mbps post limit)
Rs 1,200 – 80Mbps speed 300GB FUP (4Mbps post limit)
Rs 2,000 – 100Mbps speed 750GB FUP (4Mbps post limit)
Fiber broadband is the next big thing in home and small and medium business broadband industry. With big players like ACT, Airtel and soon Reliance Jio upping the game, it's natural to see some disruption from local brands like Pioneer Elabs.
Reliance Jio's JioFiber is long coming and the only time the company addressed its existence officially was when RIL Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani spoke about the progress of JioFiber during the company's 40th annual general meeting (AGM) in July 2017.
Recent reports have suggested that JioFiber is already under testing in select cities across India, including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Surat, and Vadodara. In fact, we had the opportunity to witness JioFiber first-hand during the Reliance Jio India Digital Open Summit 2018 last month.
But that wasn't the first time. ACT Fibernet's 1Gbps broadband was launched in Bengaluru last December and we got to review the network briefly. The speeds demonstrated by ACT during a live demo was an example of how quickly the broadband sector is bound to grow. 1Gbps is no joke as we saw a 2.2GB file download in less than 20 seconds. ACT certainly has an advantage in this area, but 2018 has just started and we are bound to see some disruption in the broadband industry. Stay tuned for more.
