RIL AGM UPDATES: Ambani's datagiri on offer; Jio to offer free calls, cheap data

1.15 pm: With that, we bring our live blog to a close.To reiterate, here are the key announcements from today's landmark meeting with respect to Reliance Jio.- Preview launch of services on September 5, commercial launch on December 31- Voice calls, SMS, national roaming to be completely free forever- VoLTE-enabled 4G LYF phones starting at Rs 2,999- Router at Rs 1999 for 2G, 3G phones; JioFY devices at Rs 2,999- Free access to Jio apps ecosystem, worth Rs 15,000, till December 2017. This will give access to 300 live channels, 6000 movies, 60,000 songs, 1 lakh television channels, Jio magazine and Jio newspapers, Jio Money.- To accept customers on Aadhaar-based e-KYC shortly- Data tariff plans to be 1/10th of current market plans- Rel Jio to charge Rs 50/gigabyte for data at the highest slabs- No more blackout days; no surge pricing on busy days- Rel Jio price point starting from Rs 19/day for occasional data users- Unlimited night-time 4G data- Rel Jio maximum monthly Rs 4,999 plan for heavy data users- To rollout WiFi hotspots across India- Special offer for students, will get 25 percent more data- Jio to connect most Indian schools & colleges with WiFi- "Indians have been used to Gandhi-giri. Now is the time to embrace data-giri," Ambani said.1.10 pm: The average Rel Jio data rates, too, are at a discount, with the starting 4GB plan (price: Rs 500), translating into a rate of about Rs 125 per GB. Currently, the average 1 GB data plan costs Rs 150-250.1.05 pm: However, analysts say there are concerns over whether Rel Jio's data-optimised network would be able to weather the load of free calls.1.00 pm: Back of the envelope calculation suggests that Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have about 64 crore customers between them, which may contribute about Rs 80,000 crore by way of voice revenues (assuming average revenue of about Rs 130 per user).By waiving call charges forever, Reliance Jio has put that much revenues at risk only between the top three operators. In all, India has a little over 100 crore users.12.52 pm: Financial analysis now coming in from experts. The takeaways? Thousands of crores of voice revenues for incumbents is at risk. The viability of Reliance Jio's own pricing strategy being questioned by some. Consolidation is inevitable. Only three-four operators will survive over the long term.12.45 pm: Market analyst SP Tulsian says that the Jio tariff couldn't have been more aggressive. "If Reliance Jio gets about 12 crore users by FY18 and the average revenue per user is about Rs 500, it translates into revenues of about Rs 70,000 crore. But I wonder if there will be profits."12.40 pm: "The whole paradigm has changed, now that voice has been made free," he admits. "It is good for the customers."Telcos, however, earn about Rs 2,500-3,000 crore through interconnect revenues.12.37 pm: Mathews says that the September 5 launch, as in effect, should be treated as commercial launch. "Never before has a test launch been attempted on this magnitude and with so many customers."12.34 pm: "The price points are very aggressive but not totally detrimental to the industry," says COAI Director-General Rajan Mathews.COAI is the body of existing telecom companies that has been at loggerheads with Reliance Jio over the issue of spectrum charges and the contentious issue of interconnection ports and whether Reliance's preview offers are within the regulatory ambit.12.31 pm: "This is destructive competition at the outset," says fund manager UR Bhat. Voice calls, on which Jio has promised to waive off charges forever, contribute about 70 percent to telecom company.12.30 pm: Reactions now coming in to Jio's announcements today.12.29 pm: Ambani is now talking about Reliance Foundation and Nita Ambani's elevation to the RIL board.12.25 pm: "I am confident that the retail will become a major pillar for Reliance Group," says Ambani.12.23 pm: "Reliance Digital is the undisputed leader in the consumer electronics business."12.22 pm: Reliance Fresh and Reliance Mart continue to be India's preferred destinations for grocery. Our cash-and-carry Reliance Market serves thousands of retailers.12.21 pm: Reliance Retail has become India's most admired, largest and most profitable retail chain.12.19 pm: "Our channels reached out to 500 million viewers last year," he said.12.16 pm: The RIL chairman is now talking about its media business, which it acquired with its Network18 buyout.12.14 pm: Ambani now talks about the company's mammoth petcoke gasification project, which will help it produce syngas. "This is the world's largest project of this scale."12.12 pm: "Reliance delivered yet another robust year with over 40 percent EBIT growth. Margins were among the highest globally. We continue to be a major supplier to every large fuel supplier in the world."12.08 pm: "We have invested over Rs 1,10,000 crore in our petrochemicals business," says Ambani. "The amount that have invested in the last five years have been more than that of investments made in 35 years."12.04 pm: Ambani now moves to provide an overview of the general business during the year gone by.12.00 pm: With that, Ambani wraps up the part of his speech where he is discussing Jio. "India will change forever from September 5," he signs off on it.11.57 am: Ambani makes a plea to incumbent players to offer enough points of interconnect ports, which facilitate calls between two operators.The issue of interconnect ports has been a bone of contention between Jio as its preview customers have reportedly had troubles making calls to other telecom users."Incuments should not use their market power to create hurdles for new entrants."11.55 am: The news of the launch has created a flutter in the social media. #RelianceAGM is trending at No 1 spot in Twitter. 

The Future is here. Get ready to board the 4G wagon. #Datagiri #RelianceAGM #Jio #JioDigitalLife

— Bibhash Auttri (@MaverickBA) September 1, 2016

11.51 am: "Today, I set a target for Team Jio to acquire 100 million customers for the Jio network in the shortest possible time and set a record."11.48 am: THE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH WILL TAKE PLACE ON DECEMBER 31.11.45 am: The most awaited news. RELIANCE JIO WILL LAUNCH ON SEPTEMBER 5. THIS WILL BE THE PREVIEW LAUNCH. (Note: We had previously said the commercial launch will take place on September 5, which is not the case.)Till December 31, as part of the welcome offer, there will be no charge on voice, data services on the Jio ecosystem.11.42 am: The announcements have taken the stock market by storm. Rival telecom stocks have taken it on the chin. Idea is down 6 percent, Airtel sinks 5 percent.11.40 am: Data services will be completely free during night hours.11.36 am: Ambani is now outlining the company's data plans. Reliance Jio will charge rates being as low as Rs 50/GB at the highest slabs.11.33 am: There's more. Ambani is now announcing data tariffs. The rates will go down further as usage increases."These will be the lowest data rates anywhere in the world."No more blackout dates on public holidays and festivals. Bills will be generated instantly at the end of the cycle. No surge pricing.11.31 am: Here comes the kicker: Mukesh Ambani says no voice call will ever be charged on the Jio network. National roaming will also be free, forever.THIS IS HISTORY BEING MADE.11.28 am: Customers who have signed up will get complementary access to the Jio ecosystem, worth Rs 15,000, till December 2017.11.27 am: "We have started a preview offer for some customers and the sign-up process has been lengthy for some customers. The introduction of e-KYC norms will make the sign-up process transformative and easy."11.24 am: He now talks about the Jio ecosystem, which includes apps that cover chat, entertainment, music, magazines, news, money and so on.11.23 am: Ambani now starts talking about LYF devices, saying that they would ensure the entry price for using Jio network is affordable. The range starts at Rs 2,999 per device.11.22 am: "Jio will offer the lowest data rates anywhere in the world," says Ambani.11.21 am: As we progress, we will start consuming even more advanced content that video, such as virtual reality and augmented reality. Jio is the network, which is ready for this."WE INDIANS HAVE BEEN USED TO GANDHI-GIRI. WE SHOULD NOW MOVE TO DATA-GIRI.11.18 am: Jio is a data-strong network built to serve the needs of a digital India. It will cover 90 percent of India's population with 4G coverage by March 2017. "It is also future-proof [for 5G, 6G]."11.15 am: Most legacy telecom operators have not built their networks for data and IP (Internet protocol). They evolved around voice and SMS. As they were confronted by the data explosion, they tried to retrofit their models with data.Jio, on the other hand, is built on the language of the Internet.11.14 am: Jio will help create a connected India, increase access to education, healthcare and boost access to financial services, says Ambani.11.10 am: "The world's demand for data is exploding. Jio aims to take India from data shortage to data abundance. No Indian's life will be affected by data scarcity, data unaffordability."11.08 am: "Thank you for your unflinching trust in the company. Today I start with the youngest member of the Reliance family, Jio," says Ambani."The world is at the beginning of the digital revolution. India is ranked 155 on Mobile Internet Accessibility. Jio is dedicated to realising PM Modi's Digital India dream."11.05 am: RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani has started speaking.11.00 am: The country's largest private sector firm by revenue and profits, Reliance Industries, is holding its 42nd Annual General Meeting.The AGM will be closely tracked as the company is expected to provide an update on its telecom venture, the to-be-launched Reliance Jio, as well as on its refinery expansion plans in which it has invested about USD 50 billion.Catch live updates here.(Disclosure: RIL owns Network18, which publishes moneycontrol.com)