Reliance Jio ready to invest up to $23bn
January 19, 2018
By Chris Forrester
India’s Reliance Jio wireless telco is already massive and is imminently expected to report that it has been profitable for the quarter-year to December 31st.
However, a timely report from Moody’s Investor Services says the cellular company could invest as much as $23 billion over the next three-to-four years to expand its ‘Voice over LTE’ wireless services, which includes JioTV.
Jio Infocomm’s parent is Reliance Industries, and backed by India’s richest individual (Mukesh Ambani, net worth $41 billion) it has speedily established itself as India’s fourth-largest operator. It has ambitions to move from wireless into Fibre-to-the Home and digital TV.
However, growth has been won at the expense of offering “free calls for life” and data transmission services for introductory periods which are free to users. In July 2017 the updated Jio ‘smart’ phone was launched at a price of just $23.