Reliance Jio Becomes Top Telecom Operator in Revenue Market Share: Report

Reliance Jio has now piped both Vodafone Idea and Airtel in terms of revenue market share with 31.7 percent during the April-June quarter. While Airtel registered 30 percent market share, Vodafone Idea grabbed 28.1 percent share, as per the data analyzed by ICICI Securities, quoted by ET Telecom.

According to the report, Jio is enjoying a strong position in 13 circles including small towns and rural areas, on the other hand, Airtel is gaining market share at the cost of Vodafone Idea.

The reports also pointed out that Jio's Adjusted Gross Revenue increased nine percent YoY to Rs. 109 billion making it the no. 1 telecom operator.

However, a report by research firm CLSA, quoted by ET informed that Reliance Jio has been witnessing decline in its average revenue per user (ARPU) trends at a rate of 3 percent, while both Airtel and Vodafone witnessed a rise of 4 to 5 percent.

During the June quarter, the ARPU for Jio was at Rs. 122 per subscriber every month which is lower than Rs. 126.2 in the March quarter. To recall, Jio forayed in the telecom sector in September 2016 and disrupted the space with its cheap data plans and 4G feature phone.

Our Thoughts

In less than three years of its operations, Jio has overtaken Bharti Airtel to become the second-largest telecom operator in India. Jio has added over 82.6 lakh users in June, while Sunil Mittal- led Bharti Airtel to continue to lose subscribers.

It is also worth mentioning that out of the three operators, Vodafone Idea is going through a very rough phase where it is losing both subscribers and revenue. So, we believe Jio has achieved a top spot when it comes to revenue, but yet to dethrone Vodafone Idea for the no. 1 position in terms of subscribers.