Jio - India’s Largest Telecom Operator with 331.3 million Subscribers

[Rewati Baruah]

The dream has turned out to be a reality. Within 3 years, the new entrant in the telecom sector captured the Numero uno position. You read it right. Reliance Jio has emerged as the biggest telecom network provider in India.

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited commercially launched its telecom services on 5th September 2016. Within 30 days, the Reliance Jio has acquired a mammoth 16 million subscriber base. In fact, this is a world record of itself where no other telecom company achieved this feat.

Reliance Jio – India Ka Number One Company:

As per the company data, Jio has achieved 50 million subscriber base in 83 days since its launch. On 22nd February 2017, the Jio has amassed 100 million subscribers. As per the latest financial results reported by its parent company, the subsidiary Reliance Jio has a remarkable user base of 331.3 million.

In contrast, Vodafone Idea Ltd reported an erosion in its customer base. In the March quarter of 2019-20, Vodafone Idea Ltd reported a subscriber base of 334.1 million. However, the latest financial report of Vodafone Idea Ltd revealed that its customer base has shrunk to 320 million.

Interestingly, the company released a statement that this customer churn is as a result of the introduction of service validity vouchers. Whatever may be the reason, India’s largest telecom merger turned out to be a big failure as it is continuously losing the subscriber base.

How Jio Destroyed the Largest Competitors?

On 31st August 2018, the merged entity (both the Idea and Vodafone brand combined) had more than 400 million subscribers and became the world’s second-largest telecom company. However, within a year the merged entity lost more than 80 million users.

The company lost its esteemed customers every month. The introduction of minimum recharge plan is considered to be a big hindrance for its erosion.

As per the latest figures, there are 1161.86 million wireless subscribers in India. Of them, Reliance Jio tops the telecom sector with 27.8% market share and 331.30 million active users. The Vodafone Idea Ltd combined entity drops to the second spot with 23.36% market share and 320 million active users.

Once the king of telecom sector Bharti Airtel is now content with 21.57% market share and 310.94 million users. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Tata DoCoMo subscribers didn’t give any fair advantage.

The state-owned BSNL & MTNL combine is placed last in the table with 10.28% market share and 119.43 million users.

Current Position of Wireless Operators in Indian Market:

Rank	Telecom Operator	Active Users (in million)	Market Share
1	Reliance Jio	331.30	27.80%
2	Vodafone Idea Ltd.	320.0	23.36%
3	Bharti Airtel	310.94	21.57%
4	BSNL & MTNL	119.43	10.28%

Also Read: Reliance Jio Extends Tariff War to Postpaid Segment with ₹199 Plan