Published: November 4, 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Jio broadband technology, called UBR, already serves more than 6.5 million Indian homes.
- Talks are on with Comcast and Charter to license the system abroad.
- The target is 10 to 15 global partners, with equity stakes in return.
A Reuters report on November 3, 2026 says Mumbai-based Jio Platforms is in talks with Comcast and Charter to license its home broadband technology.
The plan is to sign 10 to 15 global partners for the technology. Equity stakes may replace a licence fee.
Reliance Industries controls Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, with 542.4 million subscribers. The Mumbai listing came on October 28, 2026.
What Jio Broadband Tech Does That Fibre Cannot
UBR stands for unlicensed band radio. It sends home internet over the free 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, with no cable run to each house.
The technology runs on free Wi-Fi airwaves. There is no licensed spectrum to buy.
A transmitter sits on a nearby tower or rooftop. The receiver on the building catches the signal.
That cuts the cost of wiring every home. The system is built on Mimosa Networks, a US firm Jio bought in 2023 for $60 Mn through its Radisys arm.
Reliance calls the technology a global first. At home, the base has grown fast, from about 3.9 million homes in January 2026 to more than 6.5 million now. JioAirFiber is already the world’s largest fixed wireless service.
On the Q2 earnings call, Akash Ambani framed the overseas push in one line.
“Jio … is now set to take our homegrown technology around the world.”
Akash Ambani, managing director, Jio Platforms. From the Q2 FY27 earnings call, October 30, 2026.
Why Comcast and Charter Are Listening
US cable firms are losing home internet users. Fibre rivals and fixed wireless from T-Mobile and Verizon have pulled customers away. The pressure is pushing them to find cheaper tech.
Comcast had about 28.3 million home broadband customers at the end of September. Charter had about 29.4 million internet customers in June. Both still rank among the largest broadband providers in the United States.
In June 2026, Comcast said it would split off its media business to focus on its network. A cheaper way to connect homes fits that plan.
UBR lets an operator add homes without laying fibre or buying costly spectrum. For a firm under pressure, that math is attractive. A licence deal would give Jio its first foothold in the US market.
| Company | Home broadband users | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Jio Platforms | About 30 million | Sept 2026 (6.5 million on UBR) |
| Comcast | About 28.3 million | End of September |
| Charter | About 29.4 million | June |
Jio’s Overseas Playbook, and the MTN Deal That Failed
Abroad, Jio plans to act as a managed-services partner, not sell the technology as hardware or software. It would run the system for the operator, and take equity instead of a one-time fee.
The plan has been building for months. In October, Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe were named as target regions. Only a few markets will make the cut, the company has said.
MTN Group in South Africa was one target that fell away. The two sides could not agree on valuation and some licensing terms.
MTN could not get Jio to invest at a price it found acceptable. No deal has a timeline yet, and Jio did not respond to queries. Comcast and Charter declined to comment.
A Listed Jio Needs the Global Story to Pay Off
Jio Platforms listed on October 28, 2026 after a record ₹30,188 crore IPO. The sale was India’s biggest, and investors bid for more than 22 times the shares on offer.
Anchor investors had put in ₹8,110 crore before the IPO opened. Shares then opened at ₹1,358, about 21% above the ₹1,119 issue price.
That made Jio the second most valuable listed company in the Reliance group. Its first results as a public company followed on October 30.
Net profit rose 13.7% to ₹8,387 crore, from ₹7,375 crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.4% to ₹40,475 crore.
Average revenue per user reached ₹218.8, and net adds were 9.1 million in the quarter. The base now includes 300 million 5G users and about 30 million broadband homes.
The overseas push is led in part by Dan Bailey, a former Deutsche Bank technology banker. It is how Jio turns India scale into export money.
What this means for you: If you bought Jio Platforms shares in the October IPO, this is the first test of the global technology story in that pitch. Watch for a first signed licensing deal, since no timeline is set yet.
StartupFeed Insight
The hard part is behind Jio. It built a home broadband system that big global operators could not, and it already runs more than 6.5 million Indian homes on it. The Comcast and Charter talks are not about revenue today. They are about proof. One signed US deal would reset how investors read the “technology company” label sold at the IPO. Watch the Q3 FY27 earnings call, due around late January 2027, for the first hard number: a named partner, a fee or an equity stake. If that call still says only “talks”, the global story stays a promise.
By Avinash Mishra, Business Correspondent
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Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment advice. StartupFeed and its authors are not SEBI-registered investment advisors. Please speak to a SEBI-registered advisor before investing.
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