Reliance Jio claims it has converted 50 mn subscribers to Prime members

Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, the latest entrant in India's telecom market, is closing in on turning 50 million Prime members out of the 100 million free subscribers the company was able to garner by offering disruptive 4G VoLTE services at no cost.

"Out of 100 million-plus free subscribers, nearly 50 million have signed up for its 'Prime' membership by paying a one-time charge of Rs 99 and buying data packs," said an official at the company.

Jio's promotional Happy New Year plan that offered free voice and data ends on March 31, 2017. The company has been offering Prime membership to its subscribers on payment of one-time fee of Rs 99. The Prime membership enrols subscribers to continue enjoying Reliance Jio services at affordable price rates.

Data packs for such members is available for as low as Rs 149 per month. Voice calls on Jio will remain free.

The official said daily addition are going up exponentially and actual numbers will be shared after the expiry of the free offer on March 31.

According to industry estimates, out of the 100-105 million subscribers that Jio has at present, around 30 per cent are secondary connections taken by individuals to get extra free data.

Out of the remaining 70 million unique subscribers, Jio may be targeting to convert at least two-thirds to the Prime loyalty programme.

At 50 million, Jio will become the largest provider of paid broadband services in the country.

Market leader Bharti Airtel had a combined user base of 37.7 million for its 3G and 4G services at the end of December. This was down from 41.3 million three months earlier.