The rising availability of affordable 5G smartphones is expected to accelerate the adoption of Reliance Jio’s 5G network, said Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani. Speaking at the company’s 47th annual general meeting, Ambani emphasized that as 5G phones become more accessible, Jio is positioned to dominate the growing 5G market in India. “Today, nearly all smartphones priced above ₹8,000 ($96) are 5G-ready. As these devices become more affordable, 5G adoption on Jio’s network will increase, driving data consumption. With our extensive 5G coverage, capacity, and quality, Jio is poised to capture the largest share of India’s accelerating 5G adoption,” Ambani stated.
Ambani highlighted Jio’s achievement in completing the nationwide rollout of its 5G network, now responsible for over 85% of 5G radio cells in the country. “Jio has transformed India from being 5G-dark to 5G-bright, creating one of the world’s most advanced 5G networks,” he said. Leveraging its vast spectrum holdings, standalone (SA) architecture, and technologies like carrier aggregation and network slicing, Jio is among the few global operators fully capitalizing on the power of 5G, Ambani asserted. In just two years, Jio True 5G has attracted over 130 million users, making it the fastest 5G rollout in the world.
Both Jio and its competitor Bharti Airtel have now completed their nationwide 5G deployments, offering fixed wireless access (FWA) to both consumers and businesses. As more customers switch to 5G, Jio plans to utilize freed-up 4G capacity to onboard more than 200 million 2G users to its 4G network. “Our JioBharat initiative, which offers entry-level 4G phones at prices even lower than 2G phones, reflects our commitment to making India 2G-free,” Ambani said, noting that nearly half of all 2G customers who upgrade are choosing JioBharat devices, underscoring the value of Jio’s offerings.
