Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) on Sunday claimed that it has created a world record by grossing 16 million 4G mobile subscribers in India in its first month of operations.
The company commercially launched its 4G voice and Internet services on September 5. The main point to note is the fact that Reliance Jio is offering free services to its mobile customers till 31 December 2016. From 1 January 2017 onwards, Reliance Jio will continue to offer free voice and national roaming services.
Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Telenor are yet to reveal their 4G subscriber base in India. Recently, Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications, said the company added 1 million 4G subscribers to its telecom network.
“We are delighted and humbled by the overwhelming response across India to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio is built to empower every Indian with the power of data,” said Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries.
“We are delighted that people have recognised this and are utilizsing our services to the fullest. We are customer-obsessed and committed to improve every day to exceed expectations of our customers,” he added.
Jio has achieved this growth faster than any other telecom operator or start-up in the world, including the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype.
Jio has introduced Aadhaar-based paper-less Jio SIM activation across 3,100 cities and towns.
This enables the customer to complete the SIM activation process in a matter of minutes, with only his or her Aadhaar number.
Reliance Jio in a statement said that this process will be extended across the country and stabilized for satisfactory on-boarding experience in the next few weeks.
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch recently said the top 3 telecom network opeators have adequate 4G spectrum to counter Jio, making it more competitive to poach subs. These top 3 telecoms still lack a sub 1000 MHz 4G band, which Jio has, leading to likely purchase of 700 MHz in future as capacity utilization improves led by data growth.
With 60 percent of the spectrum unsold, India government may reduce prices of 700/900 MHz in future auctions to entice demand. During the recently concluded spectrum auction, Jio has largely focused on 2300 MHz by buying 10 MHz across most markets.
In addition to acquiring spectrum in 16 circles in the 2300 MHz band to further expand capacity, Jio also managed to fill its 1800 MHz gaps in Bihar, J&K, Punjab and UP (West). In addition, the company was able to expand capacity in Haryana, HP, UP (East) and West Bengal. Jio also renewed its spectrum (acquired from RCOM) in Gujarat- 800 MHz band. Jio’s total bids aggregate to Rs 136.7 bn.
