Jio Calls On Govt To Incentivize Rollout Of Gigabit India

The Indian government should provide financial incentives for telcos looking to rollout gigabit capable, fibre to the home (FTTH) services, according to the president of the country’s disruptive telecoms operator, Reliance Jio.

Mathew Oomen told reporters from the Economic Times of India that the government must act now to safeguard the evolution of India’s fledgling digital economy.

“The government should draw out incentives so that operators are not challenged to deliver on fibre, which is a critical element for India’s digital growth and story,” he said.

Reliance Jio has been at the heart of India’s digital revolution, since it launched ultra-low-cost data tariffs and handsets available to its subscribers across its 4G networks on the sub-continent.

Jio will continue to disrupt the Indian telecoms sector as it simultaneously rolls out 5G mobile services and its own FTTH services, GigaFiber later this year.

Jio has pledged to rollout GigaFiber on an almost inconceivably large scale, pledging to cover 1,100 towns and cities across India.

“JioGigaFiber will be the largest greenfield fixed-line broadband rollout anywhere in the world,” Reliance Jio’s chairman, Anil Ambani claimed in an interview last year.

“Jio is determined to move India to among the top five in fixed-line broadband,” he said.―Total Telecom