Telecom stocks under pressure after RIL's JioFiber push

Shares of telecom companies declined from 3.03% to 5.41% at 14:05 IST on BSE after Reliance Industries made slew of announcements regarding its telecom unit Jio.

Vodafone Idea (down 5.41%), Bharti Airtel (down 4.81%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 4.79%), MTNL (down 4.27%) and Reliance Communication (down 3.03%) slumped.

The S&P BSE Telecom index declined 4.23%. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.86% at 37,257.56.

Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani on Monday addressed the shareholders of the company at its 42nd annual general meeting (AGM).

Ambani stated that Reliance JioFiber broadband services are set to launch from 5th September. Reliance Jio's digital set-top box will come bundled with ultra high definition entertainment, virtual reality content multi-party video conferencing, voice-enabled virtual assistants, interactive gaming, home security and many other smart-home solutions. Voice calls from home to any Indian operator - mobile or fixed - will be absolutely free forever.

Jio Fibre plan starts with 100 Mbps speed and goes all the way up to 1 Gbps or 1000 Mbps. This will disproportionately improve the quality of fixed-line data in India. And prices are at less than 1/10th the global rates, to make it accessible for all. Jio Fiber plans will be priced between Rs 700 to Rs 10,000 per month to suit every budget and every need.

Under a Welcome Offer, Jio Fiber customers who opt for annual plans, will get an HD or 4K LED television and a 4K set-top-box absolutely free

Jio Fiber customers will be able to watch movies in their living rooms the same day these movies are released in theatres. The firm calls this Jio first-day-first-show. It plans to launch this service in the middle of 2020.

Reliance Jio has invested nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore towards creating a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure across India, with the largest optical fiber footprint. Jios customer base has crossed 340 million users and it is signing up more than 10 million new customers each month.

RIL has received strong interest from strategic and financial investors in its consumer businesses, Jio and Reliance Retail. The firm will induct leading global partners in these businesses in the next few quarters, and move towards listing both these companies within the next five years.

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