India's Reliance Jio Infocomm is preparing to take general registrations for its long-anticipated launch of 4G mobile services, suggesting a full scale launch is finally imminent.
The operator has updated its websiteto allow prospective customers to register their interest in signing up to the services.
News of the development sent stocks in rival operators declining on the Indian markets, with shares falling in Bharti Airtel nearly 5% in two days, NDTVreported. Airtel will be the main rival for Reliance Jio's pan-India 4G services.
Analysts expect the entry of Reliance Jio into the market to intensify competition among operators and to disrupt the market due to the operator's expected innovative pricing strategies.
Reliance Jio is still yet to launch services for the general public despite securing its spectrum in 2010. The operator did commence trial services in late 2015, but only for its employees and those of its parent company, partners and vendors.
Despite the limited launch criteria, the operator revealed in April that it has already attracted over 500,000 usersto its LTE network.