Reliance Jio, a leading Indian telecom operator, has been pushing hard to expand its 5G FWA (Fixed-Wireless Access) service called Jio AirFiber. It is now present in 5900 cities and towns in the country. Compared to competitors, Jio is leading in terms of 5G FWA service availability. Vodafone Idea (Vi), another private telecom operator in the country, is yet to even launch 5G FWA, while Airtel is only offering it in seven cities at the moment.

The rapid expansion of Jio AirFiber service has met with a healthy usage by the customers. Reliance Industries, in its performance report for Q4 FY24, said, "Customer demand and engagement have been strong with JioAirFiber’s unique proposition as an entertainment-first product bundled with world-class broadband connectivity."

The average daily data usage for AirFiber subscribers was 13GB, 30% higher than what JioFiber subscribers utilise. Jio AirFiber will serve customers in areas where it is hard to deploy fiber and offer JioFiber broadband service. Jio is aiming to cover the entire country with the availability of AirFiber service soon. While there's no timeline, it can be expected that it will be done in a few quarters.

Jio is offering AirFiber service on top of its 5G SA (standalone architecture) network through slicing. To promote the service, Jio is also offering the service free for 50 days. It is called the Dhan Dhana Dhan 50-day free service offer. It will be given to customers opting for new JioAirFiber or JioFiber connections. In addition, Jio AirFiberPlus subscribers will enjoy 3x speeds for a two-month period.

Reliance Jio has only been able to expand 5G FWA at a rapid pace due to the availability of 5G in most parts of the country. In the mobile department, Jio has 108+ million mobile subscribers utilising its 5G services.