Is Reliance Jio good enough to replace your primary SIM?

Reliance Jio''s "Happy New year" offer ends on 31st March, and commercial launch is around the corner. Now the million dollar question that is puzzling everyone is whether to subscribe to Jio "Prime Membership" and continue using the services or go back to your previous provider. 

Jio's commercial plans are mouth-watering, especially when you subscribe to "Prime Membership." They offer more value for money than any other plans in place by a different service provider. However, one needs to take several other factors into consideration before choosing a primary connection: 

Call Drops

Jio is still struggling to transfer calls to other networks. Call drops, cross connections, busy lines, etc., are persistent even months after the launch. Calling is the primary feature, and any issues around it is not a venial mistake. Though some may argue that it may dramatically change after commercial launch, it is unlikely to happen, as many current users are predicted to continue using the unlimited voice calling services atleast as a secondary connection. 

Unreliable Data Connection

During the initial days of launch, everyone was spellbound by the internet speeds on Jio network. Henceforth, the number of users have been multiplying, thus, congesting the network. Nevertheless, it stands tall with average peak download speed of 17.4 Mbps in January. To put in perspective, average peak download speed of Airtel and Idea is 8.15 Mbps and 8.53 Mbps respectively. However, consistency plays the spoilsport. At times, it even fails to load a small web page, particularly during peak hours. No matter which tweaks you try: it just doesn't connect you to the internet. 

Only 4G Network

Jio operates only in 4G bands. Though it has a wider coverage than incumbent networks, there is no concrete confirmation that it partnered with other players to offer services where 4G is not available. For example, at my desk location in the office in Hyderabad, I hardly see one bar in signal status. 

Will it reduce your phone bill?

If you become the Jio Prime member, there are some alluring plans waiting for both pre-paid and post-paid customers. Comparing the existing plans with the plans offered by competitors like Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, there is not much difference in the data offers. In fact, most of the companies have introduced plans for unlimited calling and 1GB data per day priced around Rs. 350. It is being expected that Reliance Jio may further come up with plans good enough to beat the revised plans by the competitors. 

 

Looking at the past, Jio is still expected to curb charges to retain its subscribers in coming time. If the company succeeds in providing breakthrough network coverage, it can be a good choice to cut-down your phone bills. 

In a nutshell, I advise you to wait for few more months before disconnecting your old connection and making Jio as a primary connection.