Newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm's 4G voice coverage using Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology is at par with that of incumbents plus no call drop problems, which will put up a strong competition for Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, brokerage firm Credit Suisse said.
Reliance Jio's "VoLTE network works with perfect interconnection with other operator networks" and there is "no difference in experience on calls to 3G/2G/fixed line (networks) vs a full CS (circuit switch) call," the brokerage said.
Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio, which recently started beta-testing its network by issuing connections to employees and friends, is looking at mainly a VoLTE-based 4G rollout.
In a VoLTE scenario, voice calls, typically, will be provisioned over a 4G LTE data network, instead of the circuit-switched 2G or 3G networks which are commonly used. The VoLTE technology allows voice to become just another app that rides on an LTE data network.
Top GSM carriers Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have been bracing for a battle over higher-paying data subscribers with Jio, which is widely expected to unleash disrupting mobile broadband tariffs to wean away data customers from existing 4G carriers.