Reliance Jio signs third deal with RCom to share infrastructure

Cost for infra sharing will be based on prevailing market price when Reliance Jio starts using the network

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani, on Monday, said it has signed an agreement with Reliance Communications (RCom) to share the optic fibre infrastructure of the Anil Ambani firm within cities. This is the third such infrastructure leasing agreement that the two brothers have signed in the past one year.

Cost for sharing the infrastructure will be determined depending on the prevailing market price at the time Reliance Jio starts using the network, the two companies said in separate but identical statements.

"Under the terms of the agreement, Reliance Jio Infocomm will utilise RCOM's nationwide intra-city fiber network for accelerated roll-out of its state-of-the-art 4G services across the country," according to the statement.

Rcom's intra-city optic fiber network is spread over about 500,000 kilometres across 300 cities and towns.

While the companies did not give any financial details, industry experts and analysts the deal could generate a few thousand crore over the remaining licence period of Reliance Jio.



In June 2013, Reliance Jio had singed a deal with Reliance Communications to rent its towers across the country for Rs 12,000 crore. According to the deal, Reliance Jio would use 45,000 of RCom's 50,000 towers.

Reliance Jio has signed infrastructure sharing agreements with other companies besides RCom.

In December 2013, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel had signed an agreement to share telecom infrastructure. Besides sharing the towers of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel will also use each other's optic fibre networks.

Reliance Jio has also signed an agreement with Viom Networks to share telecom towers.