Over 16 million users on Reliance Jio 4G are using 1GB data daily, making it the biggest telecom operator in the world with respect to data traffic.
This pegs Reliance Jio, the newbie telecom operator, as the leading company in the sector, globally surpassing the likes of China Telecom (12,000 TB/day) and Vodafone Global (6,000 TB/day). Heck, they’ve even beaten Airtel, which is India’s biggest operator.
As per reports, consumers on the Jio 4G network have used over 16,000 terabyte (TB) per day worth of data. Pretty sure most of that would have been used to watch porn.
Reliance Jio 4G was officially available to all from 5 September onwards, and the company said they got a staggering 16 million users on its network, faster than anything even WhatsApp has achieved.
So, what’s the secret behind Reliance Jio’s uptake being the largest and the fastest? You don’t need to be a genius to answer that. It’s a four letter word, and starts with F – FREE.
Huge mobile data traffic levels amid the free services make Jio’s traffic 4.2 times larger than combined levels of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea based on June 2016 data.Credit Suisse Report
Food for Thought
The company is dwindling with its services, and going by the numbers quoted by the research firm here, it’s hardly surprising to see why.
The slowing speeds of Jio’s 4G network is understandable as the telco is getting stress-tested.Credit Suisse Report
That said, Jio should have estimated the volume of data traffic that would be used on its network during the Jio Welcome Offer, which might get further extended up to March 2017.
Also Read: Welcome Offer on Reliance Jio 4G Could Extend Till March 2017
Jio is only available on the 4G network. Vodafone, Airtel and Idea also offer on 2G/3G network, in addition to 4G.
Reliance Jio has been facing tough times recently, and while offering free internet is something that nobody can refuse, their true test of quality will come through only after the data-hogging consumers – who are only in for the free internet – move out of the network.
Which, however, clearly goes against what Reliance Jio aims for, especially with its overly ambitious target of getting 100 million customers on board in the fastest time possible.
No Change in Guard
China Mobile currently has over 844 million users on its network, out of which 481 million are said to be on the 4G network, as per the company info on its website.
This, when compared with 16 million users on Reliance Jio 4G, don’t really add up and in all likelihood, they’ll find it hard to dethrone the existing duopoly quo.
We expect Reliance Jio to gain less than a 2% revenue market share in 2017 but to act as a major price-disruptor to the sector.Fitch Ratings
The estimation of the group will not please the guys at Reliance Jio, but they’ve got to understand that assessing the market on the back of their free data initiative is less than compelling. In fact, operators like Airtel and Vodafone are only going to grow further, as per the analysts.
India is heading for a data-only market, with revenue of voice and messages coming down, but safe to say, that’s not going to happen in the immediate future.
It further goes on to say that Jio’s plans will be cheaper than the incumbents only for a short while, as most of them are expected to cut down on their tariffs by 10-15% in 2017.
Such a volatile condition of the industry is going to affect the economical condition of the telcos, stunting the growth of the sector in India. The free data is good for the consumer, but everyone else will have to bear the brunt of this exercise in the short term.
It’ll be intriguing to see how the long-term stretch of the sector pans out. For now, join the queue for a free Jio SIM and make the best of what’s out there, as long as it lasts.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)