Reliance Jio to launch 4G services in 800 cities by June 2015

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJI), the telecommunications arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, is planning to roll out its 4G LTE services in 800 cities in India by June next year, says a Business Standard report quoting sources.

The firm will initially offer 4G dongles and Mi-Fi devices, which allow users to access 4G on any Wi-Fi-enabled phone including feature phones. Each Mi-FI device can connect up to 10 handsets at a time. The firm is looking to offer an average speed of 16-18 mbps on its dongles, which is 3x faster than 3G, the report said.

As part of the plans, Reliance Jio has erected more than 30,000 towers, in addition to leasing out towers from other companies.

As of now, Bharti Airtel and Aircel Ltd are the only telecom firms in India to offer 4G services. While Airtel offers services in 15 cities including Bangalore, Pune and Mohali, Aircel's services are available in four circles -- Andhra Pradesh (AP), Assam, Bihar and Odisha.

Aircel rolled out its 4G services in July this year.