JioMeet: A Zoom rival and latest update from Reliance Jio
JioMeet: India's Reliance Jio Platforms, which has recently completed a fundraiser run of $15.2 billion, are ready to enter a new business of video conferencing.
On Thursday (2 July) evening, the company — backed by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, officially launched JioMeet, its Zoom-like video conferencing service.
Here is the link - https://jiomeetpro.jio.com/home
Like Zoom and Google Meet, JioMeet provides users an unlimited number of free high-definition (720p) calls, serving as many as 100 callers. Ironically though, it does not seem to place a limited time limit on the length of a call. Jio Platforms says an uninterrupted free that call can last for "up to 24 hours." The company actually has no paid plans announced till now. It's uncertain if Jio Platforms is going to change that, which has a reputation giving away free services for years.
Jio Platforms have been beta testing JioMeet in May this year. They said the video conferencing service offers “enterprise-grade” host controls. These include: password protection on each call, multi-device login support (up to five devices), and screen share and collaborate features.
Other features include the ability to "seemingly" switch from one device to another, as well as a 'Safe Driving Mode' for when a participant is in transit. Hosts may also create a 'waiting room' to ensure participants are expected to request permission to join a call.
The company has not given any further information, including whether the service could be used by people outside India. JioMeet claims on its website that all the meetings are "encrypted" but does not elaborate on whether these calls are encrypted end-to-end.
With JioMeet, Reliance Jio Platforms takes on Zoom, of which UI looks very much like Zoom.
JioMeet is available for use on the desktop via Chrome and Firefox browsers, as well as standalone macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android applications. It also has an Outlook plugin.
Earlier this year, Jio executives had described JioMeet as a platform that they think will have features someday to allow doctors to consult their patients, prescribe them medication, and have a system in place to let them buy medicine online and get test results digitally. Similarly, they said JioMeet would allow teachers to host their students' virtual classrooms, with the ability to record sessions, assign and accept assignments, and digitally conduct tests.
Jio Platforms is India's largest telecom operator with about 400 million subscribers, operates a range of digital services including JioMusic, a music streaming service; JioCinema, providing thousands of TV shows and movies; and JioTV, enabling users to watch more than 500 TV channels. All of these services are available to Jio Platforms users at no additional charge. Becoming a customer for Jio costs less than $2 a month.
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Today's launch of JioMeet comes when tens of millions of people in India are working for work and staying in contact with friends from home and using videoconferencing services.
Zoom app, currently India's most popular video conference service, had about 35 million active monthly users on Android in the third week of July, up from about 4 million users during the same time in March, according to mobile analytics firm App Annie. (Android power almost 99 percent of India 's smartphones.)
Recently, on Friday (3 July), Intel said it would invest $253.5 million in Jio Networks, joining a roster of high-profile investors including Facebook and Silver Lake who have backed India's largest telecom operator in the last few months.
