The companies have designed the deal to share inter and intra-city optic-fibre networks, submarine cable networks, towers and internet broadband services. The agreement also aims to avoid infrastructure duplication in the country.
As part of the agreement, Airtel will provide Reliance Jio with data capacity on its i2i submarine cable, which connects India and Singapore, allowing Reliance Jio to extend its network and service reach to customers across the Asia-Pacific region.
The company presently holds an agreement to lease undersea cable capacity from Airtel.
A joint statement released by the companies stated: “The arrangement could in future be extended to roaming on 2G, 3G and 4G, and any other mutually benefiting areas relating to telecommunications, including, but not limited to, jointly laying optic fibre or other forms of infrastructure services.”
Reliance Jio also confirmed plans to roll out a 4G network. It won airwaves in 2010, but has not yet launched commercial services.
