With Reliance Jio having crossed 50 million in 83 days, another few months should see it scaling the target they are chasing
In his bid to doggedly chase the 100-million subscriber base, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday announced the continuation of freebies currently being offered for fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) data and voice services till March 31 next year.
In September, Ambani had announced free 4G voice and data services under its Welcome Offer, sparking off a turf war with incumbent players – Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.
India’s richest man had set a target of 100-million users in shortest possible time. With Reliance Jio having crossed 50 million in 83 days, another few months should see it scaling the target they are chasing.
“The Reliance Jio Happy New Year offer will be free for all customers till March 31, 2017,” he said.
Ashish Sharma, telecom leader, PwC India, said since the company was looking to reach the 100 million user base, the extension of offer would help it fine-tuning the ecosystem for it.
“They are going after the 100 million, and this is an indication that ecosystem which enables them to pick 100 million users is going to take time, which was expected. It is an indication that creating 4G ecosystem from scratch requires more time. It is a sign that they are willing to do whatever it takes to reach that crucial number,” he said.
According to him, while users will benefit, it could be harmful for the sector as losses and debts may mount as players try to corner market share.
“The entire telecom sector is going to come under significant stress. In the time of stress people flock to the strongest. I think Jio and Airtel could be the survivors in this game. The rest would really need to do something on their business model (to remain relevant in the long run),” said Sharma.
He believes the depth and strength of Airtel’s customers would help it weather Reliance Jio’s onslaught.
For other telecom companies in the fray, he said; “Others (players), I would frankly be very sanguine about them. There are significant issues in terms of costs to be able to survive this kind of market offensive (by Jio)”.
Sharma feels tariffs, which are already at sustainable levels, are likely to dip further due to intense competition.
G Krishna Kumar said finally the winner would be the player who would offer the best quality of service, not the best price.
He believes once the market consolidated, those who will survive will reap the benefit of the digital economy and digital currency, which will throw up a huge opportunity for them.
“Once the industry has gone through a consolidation process, the average revenue per user (Arpu) of players will improve if the quality of voice and data services improves then we (India) may not be cheapest telecom service in the world,” he said.
Another player, who spoke anonymously, said state-owned BSNL may emerge as the “dark horse” in the long run.
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 "Mukesh Ambani")
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