Is Reliance Jio India's Biggest Telecom Disruptor?

In 2016, the mukesh ambani led reliance jio transformed the mobile phone landscape in india by reaching out to network starved remote areas with its 4g phones and services that were free of cost, as well as to cost-conscious urban markets. A few telecom operators could not match these services and fell by the side. Others had to merge to face the stiff competition. All in all, the mobile services game changed totally with the entry of jio and is poised to change further. Because the company still has a lot up its sleeve.

- Nijhum Rudra

India, with the world’s second largest mobile user base, witnessed a massive disruption in the telecom sector in September 2016, when the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio entered the market offering free 4G and voice calls. This service was free for six months and later, when Reliance decided to extend it, India’s telecom regulatory body TRAI blocked the move. Rivals Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and BSNL also started following Jio’s path with endless cheaper tariff packs for its users, ultimately leading the debt-ridden telecom sector into more debt.

Rajan S. Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), highlights why Jio made such an impact on the telecom market. He says, “Even though smartphones have become synonymous with mobile phones, there has always been a latent demand for feature phones. Reliance Jio was smart to identify this need and disrupted the market with its 4G feature phones in January 2017. With its entry into the market in 2016, RJio quickly garnered popularity, with its free voice for lifetime and unlimited data plans, and stupendous connectivity even in areas where other networks aren’t present, including remote regions across the country. The JioPhone also boasted of features like the capability to be connected with television sets to watch shows in real-time using the Jio TV app. The phone also included some of the most popular instant messaging and social networking apps.”

Three years ago, the Indian mobile industry was going through the 4G revolution which initiated the Digital India concept and bridged the huge digital divide. Jio has been the catalyst for this trend, and the inflection point, as far as the growth of the Internet user base is concerned. Not only did it bring first-time users to the Internet but also led to massive growth in the consumption of data through its disruptive pricing and go-to-market strategy, Counterpoint Research reports state.