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Reliance Jio to 4G-fy Wankhede stadium for IPL matches

In first-of-its-kind initiative, Mukesh Ambani's telecom firm Reliance Jio is planning to wi-fi enable the Wankhede stadium to offer 4G internet experience to the 30,000-odd spectators at the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 2015 season that starts on April 8.

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In first-of-its-kind initiative, Mukesh Ambani's telecom firm Reliance Jio is planning to wi-fi enable the Wankhede stadium to offer 4G internet experience to the 30,000-odd spectators at the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 2015 season that starts on April 8.

Sources privy to the development told dna that testing of the 4G offering at the stadium is being done currently.

"Infrastructure required to wi-fi enable the entire stadium has been laid out already. And there certainly are plans to offer the Reliance Jio experience to cricket fans watching the matches in action. In fact, trials are already on and the company executives are working on various related aspects of delivering the high-speed internet experience," sources said.

When contacted, spokespersons from both Reliance Industries and Mumbai Cricket Association (managers of the Wankhede stadium) did not comment on the development.

While IPL matches will be held through out the country, Reliance chose to offer 4G services only at Wankhede stadium as IndiaWin Sports Pvt Ltd (a group company of Reliance Industries Ltd) owns Mumbai Indians team. One of the eight franchise cricket teams of the IPL, Mumbai Indians will play seven T20 matches at Wankhede, of which the first one against Kings XI Punjab is scheduled for April 12.

Among other teams that Mumbai Indians will fight out at Wankhede include Chennai Super Kings (April 17), SunRisers Hyderabad (April 25), Rajasthan Royals (May 01), Delhi Daredevils (May 05), Royal Challengers Bangalore (May 10) and Kolkata Knight Riders (May 14).

Reliance has been keen on showcasing the 4G services and has been testing it in different pockets of the country including select Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses and high-streets in a select few states. The company also gave a taste of its 4G services to the corporate sector from across the world at the Vibrant Gujarat summit held in January this year.

"Offering 4-5 hours of 4G internet services to cricket fans at Wankhede is a completely different ball-game. It will be an exciting experience for spectators at the stadium wanting to share real-time images, videos and possibly do video-chats with friends and family," said another source.

A subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd which is India's largest private sector company, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) is the first telecom operator to hold pan India unified licence to provide seamless 4G services.

Incidentally, RJIL had, on March 26, said that it has successfully acquired the right to use spectrum in 13 key circles across India in the recently concluded spectrum auction conducted by the government.

The company had incurred capital expenditure of Rs 10,077.53 crore towards acquiring spectrum in the 800MHz, 1800MHz frequency bands. While commenting on the spectrum acquisition, Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director, RIL, had said, "Jio's seamless 4G services using proven multi-band LTE technology and supported by our large spectrum footprint will provide superior user experience for voice, video and data services in line with the best service providers in the world."

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