Factors That Helped Reliance Jio Become Number One Telecom Player

It all started in September 2016 when India's richest man Mukesh Ambani announced the launch of Reliance Jio, which has recently become the number one telecom player in the country. The company has become the largest player in just four years and currently offers its services to over 400 million customers in the country.

This is quite surprising as both Airtel and Vi (Vodafone-Idea) that have been operating for a very long are nowhere close to Reliance Jio. The incumbent operator started its operation with cheap data and affordable prepaid plans. Reliance Jio has changed the entire telecom industry as the company introduced free voice calls, which used to contribute 80 percent to the revenues.

In shorts, Jio changed the way Indians lived by offering free services for at least six months. For the unaware, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director, Mukesh D. Ambani announced that it is investing Rs. 1.5 trillion in the telecom business. So, in that way, we are going to list all major milestones that helped Reliance Jio to become the number one telecom player in India.

Reliance Jio Achievements So Far

Notably, the operator managed to achieve 100 million customers in just 170 days, which means the company added seven customers per second. Besides, Reliance Jio's affordable data packages increased the data consumption by many folds, and now India has the second-largest internet user base. This clearly means that Reliance Jio forced other telecom players to launch prepaid packs at affordable prices. Apart from foraying into the telecom sector, Reliance Jio also has its internet business called the JioFiber that offers seven plans.

In addition, Reliance Jio has also become the first company that crossed Rs. 11 lakh crore market capitalization in June this year. However, becoming debt-free before the actual time was the greatest achievement by any telecom player or any other firm in India.

The company has sold its 32.94 percent stake to 13 companies in two months. India's largest telecom operator has so far garnered Rs. 118,319 crores from firms like Public Investment Fund, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Facebook, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, and L Catterton.

Reliance Jio Future Outlook

Reliance is expanding its telecom and retail business in the country. The company has recently bought stakes in four companies. The company is also planning to launch 4G and 5G devices in India, which clearly shows that it will soon capture the handset market.