Six years of Jio: Tracing the telco's dominance in the Indian market

When Reliance Jio launched Jio on September 5, 2016, India had over 1.02 billion mobile users. These were served by 11 other firms in addition to Jio. Bharti Airtel was the largest service provider with 25.03 per cent market share. 

Six years later, the number of subscribers has risen to over 1.14 billion according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data for June. The number of active service providers has shrunk to five. Jio, with 36 per cent market share, is the number one player in the segment. The growth has been led by Jio’s disruptive pricing, innovation and investments. After it began operations, it offered free data and voice calls for the first six months. 

A year later, it launched a 4G-enabled feature phone called JioPhone spurring growth in Tier II and III towns. It is also the largest home broadband service provider and now plans to target 100 million homes by providing fixed wireless access after the launch of its 5G service. In FY21, it raised Rs 1.52 trillion from 13 investors. These together own around 33 per cent stake in Jio Platforms.