Reliance Jio has truly disrupted the Indian telecom industry with free offering of 4G data and voice calls and then following it up with the latest Jio Summer Surprise, which gives another 3 moths of free services for Rs. 303. But the telecom operator has some really big plans up ahead.
There have been rumours about Jio exploring new areas of interest, namely FTTH broadband and Direct to Home (DTH) services. While Jio's GigaFiber high-speed broadband for home and business users, offering up to 1Gbps speeds, is being tested in some regions, new information about Jio set top box has come to light.
This isn't the first time information about Jio offering DTH service has popped up online, but it certainly adds credibility to ongoing rumours and brings ignites excitement among users. The latest pictures of the Jio set top box are different from the ones leaked earlier. The pictures show a standard STB, much like how the others in the market look like.
The pictures, obtained by the DTH Forum, show a black rectangular STB with Jio logo upfront and ports for USB, cable, HDMI, RJ45, and standard ones for video and audio. There's also a label on the STB that says it is "not for retail," suggesting this could not be the final design or product Jio has planned to debut.
But the most interesting part of Jio offering a DTH service is the kind of disruption it could bring. Rumours suggest that Jio might offer its traditional 3-month free service for its DTH service as well when it launches. Even after the free trial ends, the basic package is expected to be priced at Rs. 185 per month, which is merely half of what users are paying to get the service on Airtel Digital or Tata Sky.
In addition, the Mukesh Ambani-owned company could offer the DTH service with 300 channels at first, adding more later. Jio DTH service is also expected to come with a feature called "catch on" that will allow users to stream content from past seven days. Users might also be able to access Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar content through partnerships Jio is rumoured to close.
