It’s not clear if the set-top box is for Jio DTH or Jio IPTV, but the chances for DTH are bleak as there are no reports of Jio leasing transponders. Moreover, IPTV seems like a more logical fit considering Jio is an all-IP network.
Jio has gone on to disrupt the telecom market even since it launched early this year. While some analysts are skeptical about Reliance Jio’s freemium policy, there’s no doubt in saying that the upstart telecom brand has revolutionized the market by forcing competitors to step up their game. After telecom, Jio now plans to enter the IPTV market and take on the DTH players like DishTV, Tata Sky and others. The leaked set top box comes in a rectangular design with a multitude of machine drilled hole at the top. These holes are possibly meant for dissipating the heat from the box. That aside, the Jio IPTV set top box has a range of connectivity options. Apart from the standard video and audio ports, the Jio IPTV set top box has an HDMI, two USB, and an RJ-45 port. Among these, one USB is located to the front of the box. Besides, the presence of an RJ-45 port signifies that the Jio IPTV set-top box can be connected to a modem if required. It also expected to come with UHD or 4K support. It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time that images of a Jio IPTV set top box has leaked online. Just a few months back leaked images of a circular set-top box and a Jio branded remote had cropped up on the web. That box too came with a support for Ethernet and USB ports. Jio IPTV service is yet to launch in any city, but the recent leak makes us believe that a possible launch is impending in the coming few months. It is expected that Jio will be kick starting its IPTV services in Mumbai first, before rolling out to other cities. [pullquote]Jio is expected to kick start the operations in Mumbai first, before rolling out to other cities.[/pullquote] With that said, Jio’s entry into the IPTV market is expected to bring smiles to millions of consumers across the country. Provided Jio continues with its aggressive pricing, we can expect DTH operators to cut down their package pricing by at least 40-50%. Jio may also provide its IPTV set-top boxes for free to promote its services. For the uninitiated, Jio is also working on its own Fiber FTTH Gigabit broadband services. The company has, in fact, starting testing its service with a few handpicked consumers in Pune. The Jio FTTH Gigabit broadband service is earmarked to launch in a total of 100 cities spread across India. It is expected to be announced somewhere in the middle of this year. An earlier version of the story mentioned Jio DTH instead of Jio IPTV.
