Reliance Jio topples Vodafone-Idea to become biggest telco in India

With continuous and rapid addition of consumers to its telecom network, Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom network Reliance Jio has now become the country’s largest mobile operator surpassing Vodafone- India in user base and revenue. 

Jio, which came into force in September 2016, within a span of less than 3 years has taken up its subscriber base to 33.1 crore.  Whereas, in the same period, its competitors have lost customer-base as well as market share.

Balesh Sharma-led Vodafone- Idea user base narrowed down to 32 crore, as per TOI report.

In April-June quarter, Ambani-led telco also made more revenue than Vodafone- Idea.

Vodafone-idea revenue for the above mentioned quarter fell 4.3% to Rs 11,269.9 crore. Whereas Jio’s revenue for the same period was Rs 11,679 crore, while net profit rose 46% to Rs 891 crore.

The development is significant for the new 4G - only telecom entrant as recently it has outrun Bharti Airtel to become a second-largest mobile network with the addition of about 81.80 lakh new subscribers and now has acquired number one position surpassing Vodafone- Idea.

Rest all other telecom networks be it Tata, Airtel or  Vodafone- Idea have lost their customer base.

Earlier, Trai in its telecom subscription report for May month said that Vodafone-Idea with a 33.36% market share had largest consumer-base,  about 38.75 crore. Though, it did not register any significant growth in user base.

In the same month, Jio consumer base ballooned to 32.27 crore whereas Airtel slipped to the third spot with 32.03 crore mobile subscribers and 27.58% subscriber market share during the month, the report added.

Ever since its arrival, Jio has brought in low-end users through cheaper tariffs and free voice calling. Other telecom players did not realise the opportunity until Jio came into the picture and disrupted the industry. Jio kept pressing its rivals through its lucrative consumer acquisition strategy. As a result, Airtel and Vodafone revenue and profits kept going down with every passing quarter.

In just three years of its existence, the company posted seven straight profitable quarters, which is worth a notice. 

The telco, in line with its Chairman Mukesh Ambani vision, aims to be a strong digital player in areas such as financial services, entertainment, commerce, healthcare and education. With kind of growth the telco has registered, the day might not be far away when it will be one of the biggest digital players in the country.