Reliance Jio to buy Wireless Assets of Reliance Communications

Mukesh Ambani Reliance Jio (RJio) has inked a pact with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) to buy a majority of the latter’s wireless assets. Both the companies announced this in separate statements on 28^th December, the day of the 85^th birth anniversary of their father, Late Dhirubhai Ambani.

Wireless assets pact

RCom had received non-binding offers from around 15 companies for its wireless assets deal. RJio turned out to be the highest bidder and inked binding agreements with RCom. The wireless assets of RCom comprise all spectrum, fiber optic network, tower, and other components of the telecom infrastructure. The deal includes 122.4 MHz of 4G spectrum in four bands of 2,100, 1,800, 900, and 800; 43,000 towers; 248 media convergence nodes that cover an area of five million square feet; and 1.78 lakh route kilometer (RKM) fiber with countrywide footprint.

The sale is subject to approval from the government and other regulatory bodies, the release of all encumbrances on the assets, consent from all lenders, and other conditions. RJio will pay the consideration after the completion subject to adjustments given in the agreement. The consideration primarily consists of cash payment and includes the transfer of deferred spectrum installments, which needs to be paid to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The two companies had earlier entered into agreements for sharing spectrum, tower infrastructure, and fiber network.

Win-win deal

The assets deal is said to be a win-win for both the companies. RJio will gain access to RCom’s valuable 4G spectrum and other wireless assets. This will give an additional firepower to the company in its telecom business. RJio mentioned in its statement that these assets are strategic in nature and they will significantly contribute to the company’s large-scale rollout of Fiber to Home and Enterprise and wireless services. On the other hand, RCom will be able to reduce its debt substantially. The company owed INR 45,000 crore at the end of October. Its statement mentioned that RCom will use the cash deal for pre-payment of its debt to the lenders.

Mahesh Uppal, Director at telecom consultant ComFirst India, stated that the deal would surely help RCom address its debts. He said that RJio understands the current value and history of these assets better than anyone else does and hence the deal will help RJio too.

RCom’s assets

RCom is looking to sell its assets and reduce its debt by INR 39,000 crore. Post the deal with RJio, the company will be left with its real estate assets and 134 MHz spectrum. It is understood that the company has already found bidders for the spectrum.

Impact of Reliance Jio

The launch of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio in September 2016 shook the telecom industry in India. Its cut-price data and free voice affected other incumbent players. The strategy pushed RCom into a debt spiral. Bharti Airtel bought assets of other smaller telecom companies like Tikona Digital, Telenor India, and Tata group’s consumer mobile business. Besides, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular entered into a merger, which was announced during early 2017.

Summary

Reliance Jio signs a deal with Reliance Communications to buy the latter’s wireless assets.

Mukesh Ambani Talks About Success, Business, Family and Much More

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) openly discussed topics such as money, family, success, business, and competition at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Huge investments made in Jio

Ambani talked about the result of the huge investments made in Jio. He said that these results are declared every quarter, and people will get to know more about it soon. He thinks that the returns RIL is getting from Jio is ahead of schedule and the company doesn’t want to predict anything now. He has advised to keep an eye on the next three quarters to know more.

He continued on to say that India will have to participate in the new world, so it needs to have data infrastructure that should be ahead of the United States by 2019. The DNA of RIL is very focused and he believes in the principle of focusing on the goal of being the best and combating all other obstacles. He mentioned how under his father, RIL became the best in the polyester industry. In the same way, while Jio does look like it is competing, all it is trying to do is be the best.

While discussing business

Mukesh Ambani spoke about how his father started RIL and taught them that a business must solve problems. He pointed out the history of RIL and how it started with clothing and textiles. The next step it took was starting a refinery and helping solve the problem of India not importing petrol and diesel.

RIL’s entry into retail was also linked to the need for creating employment and the company looks forward to solving more problems and creating societal value. He said that RIL is ready to take challenges of solving much bigger problems and face risks.

Ambani believes that healthcare, education, and agriculture need attention. He thinks that these sectors have problems that need to be solved and India holds the potential to solve these problems. If we can solve it here then we can solve it anywhere in the world, says Ambani.

Ambani talks about rivalry

When asked about his business rivals, Mukesh Ambani said that he doesn’t think of business in that way. Everyone in the industry has their profits and losses because of the risks that they take. The most important thing to him is what moves the country forward and the gains of the consumers. If the country and consumers benefit then it is worth taking on losses as big companies like RIL can afford it.

What money means to him

When asked about the role money plays in his life, Ambani said that it has never been important to him. Money is important from a company’s point of view as it allows for risks and flexibility but personally, he doesn’t even carry credit cards or cash.

Ambani talks about his family and his reading habits

Ambani expressed that this generation is quite different from his own, as unlike this generation, he could never tell his father ‘you don’t get it’. Talking about his reading habits he said that he reads fiction, technical, and non-fiction at the same time.

Ambani defines success in his own words

Ambani said that for him, fulfillment is important; the feeling of trying your best and giving everything you have even if you don’t get the expected outcome.

Summary

In an interview at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Mukesh Ambani talks about business, family, competition, and much more.

JioPhone to be the First Feature Phone to Get Google Assistant

The JioPhone by Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio, the telecom subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is all set to become the first feature phone in the world to have Google Assistant.

Google Assistant rollout

In Google for India press conference, Google announced the official rollout of Google Assistant for the JioPhone. While Google Assistant has been customized to suit the JioPhone’s small screen, users will still be able to use it the same way it is used on high-end smartphones. At present, Google Assistant will support English and Hindi. However, there are high expectations that the technology giant will soon release support for other regional languages.

What can JioPhone users do with Google Assistant

With Google Assistant, users may search for quick and relevant information. The search queries can be given in a text or conversation-based manner. Google Assistant will let users make calls, send text messages, play videos and music, as well as access other apps on the phone. This, along with HelloJio, the in-house JioPhone assistant, makes the phone convenient to use. HelloJio also allows users to make calls, send text messages, access apps, and search via voice.

How to get Google Assistant

While it has not yet been mentioned how and when the Google Assistant software will reach JioPhone users, it is expected to be added via an over-the-air (OTA) update. Users may expect this software update in the near future.

About JioPhone

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio’s JioPhone first made headlines when it was released as India’s first 4G feature phone. The phone is said to be almost at par with low-end smartphones, after being released as ‘India ka Smartphone.’

The phone has a QVGA color 2.4-inch screen and a T9 keypad. The phone’s home button acts as a shortcut for starting HelloJio. Encased in an all-plastic body, the phone delivers a power packed performance with both its processor variants. The first is a Snapdragon 205 SoC manufactured by Qualcomm while the second variant is by Spreadtrum.

JioPhone’s operating system is known as KaiOS, a custom fork of the Firefox Operating System. It supports NFC for secure transactions as well as 22 Indian languages for ease of use. The JioPhone lets users surf the Internet and make video calls.

Other features of the phone include 0.3MP and 2MP front and rear cameras, FM radio, 2,000mAh battery with a standby time of 15 days, and access to Jio apps. Besides, the phone also comes with an SD card slot (up to 128GB) for users who need more memory.

JioPhone comes at a refundable deposit of INR 1,500 when returned after 36 months. Customers may claim early refund as follows:

• If the customer returns the JioPhone after 12 months and before 24 months of purchase, then he/she will receive a refund of INR 500.
• If the customer returns the JioPhone within 24 to 36 months of purchase, then he/she will receive the refund of INR 1,000.

Summary

The JioPhone is soon to be the first feature phone in the world to get Google Assistant.

Jio Extends its Triple Cashback Offer Till December 15th and a Special Plan for Xiaomi Redmi 5A Customers

Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio has extended the offer of triple cashback until December 15^th, 2017 and has introduced a new plan for the Xiaomi Redmi 5A customers.

Triple cashback offer by Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio introduced a triple cashback offer at the start of November. In this offer, it provides 100 percent cashback vouchers on every recharge of INR 399 or above. The offer also provides cashbacks worth INR 300 instantly on using digital wallets like FreeCharge, Amazon Pay, MobiKwik, Paytm, PhonePe, and Axis Pay for making payments.

Reliance Jio has also partnered with some e-commerce brands and is offering vouchers up to INR 1,899. This offer was supposed to last only until November 25^th, but later it was extended until December 15^th.

The new users will receive slightly better deals than the existing users on e-wallet platforms. First-time patronizers of MobiKwik, who are Jio Prime members, will get the highest cashback of INR 300.

Offer on the Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Reliance Jio has collaborated with the Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi and together they have an offer, i.e. a special monthly plan that offers 1GB of data daily worth INR 199. It will also offer free voice calls, unlimited SMS, as well as access to Jio Apps. The plan has 28 days validity and is the lowest tariff plan for a month in the market.

The customers of Redmi 5A will get a cashback worth INR 1,000. The users can avail this cashback by continuing to do a recharge of the INR 199 plan in their accounts for 12 months. The cashback will come in as 10 vouchers worth INR 100 and it will be credited to the customer’s account after the completion of 12 months. To avail the offer, recharge for the first time should be done from 5^th December 2017 to 30^th November 2018.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A

The Xiaomi Redmi 5A comes in two different variants— a 2GB RAM with 16GB ROM which is worth INR 4,999 and a 3GB RAM with 32GB ROM which is worth INR 6,999. The smartphone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset with a quad-core processor and a 3,000 mAh battery. It has an HD display that measures 5 inches and is fully laminated. The phone runs on the Android 7.1 Nougat operating system.

Other offers by Reliance Jio

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio has partnered with other handset companies for a few more offers.

• Jio and Oppo offer

Customers who buy the Oppo F3, F3 Plus, F1 Plus, or F5 smartphone will get an additional 4G data of 10GB with every recharge of INR 309 and above. This offer is limited to 10 recharges.

• iPhone X buyback offer

The iPhone X buyback offer refunds 70 percent of the MRP on the return of the smartphone, after a year. To become eligible for this offer Jio subscribers will have to do a recharge of INR 799 or above every month for a year.

Summary

Jio extends the triple cashback offer and has introduced a new offer for Xiaomi Redmi 5A smartphone customers.