Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries (RIL), has secured $2.2 billion in financing from the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) for its 5G rollout in India. This funding will enable the company to purchase equipment and services from Swedish telecom giant Ericsson.
According to Reliance Industries’ annual report for the fiscal year 2022-23, this deal represents the largest cover ever provided by EKN for a private corporate globally. The company also stated that it has tied up a total of $3 billion in syndicated term loan facilities to support its 5G expansion plans.
As of March 31, 2023, Jio’s 5G services, branded as Jio True 5G, were available in 2,300 cities and towns across India. The company’s website further states that these services are currently accessible in 6,258 neighborhoods.
To fulfill its ambitious pan-India 5G rollout plan, Jio has committed to investing INR 2 lakh crore. And with the aim of completing the rollout by December 2023, the company plans to utilize its indigenously developed 5G stack, which it also plans to export to other countries in the near future.
The annual report also highlighted the company’s focus on digital services, stating that Jio has filed a total of 1,120 patent applications worldwide. These patents cover various key areas including 5G and 6G technologies, as well as Distributed Ledger Technology.
RIL further revealed its ongoing efforts to develop applications and solutions across digital services such as the 5G stack, cloud and edge computing, devices and operating systems, blockchain, IoT, mixed reality, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), secure identity, and natural language processing.
Jio’s network currently carries over 55% of India’s data traffic, and in the past fiscal year, it witnessed a 24% increase in data consumption. The company reported 113.3 billion GB of data consumed on its network, resulting in per capita data consumption of 23.1 GB per user per month.
As of March 31, 2023, Jio had a subscriber base of 439.3 million, contributing to an average revenue per user (ARPU) of INR 178.8.
In just four years since the launch of its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services, Jio has connected over 9 million premises, with an average data usage of nearly 280 GB per month.
Reliance Jio’s financing deal with EKN marks a significant milestone in its 5G rollout strategy. With its focus on technological innovation and commitment to expanding its digital services, Jio aims to cement its position as a leading telecom player in India and potentially explore global expansion opportunities in the future.
