Reliance Jio Broadband Market Share Surpasses 50% Mark As Rivals Lose Subscribers

Reliance Jio’s market share in the broadband market has surpassed 50 percent as its mobile subscriber base increased to 21.6 percent at the end of September. According to a finding from India Ratings and Research, broadband subscribers base increased 51.2 percent year-on-year to 463.2 million in September 2018. The growth was led by low data prices and affordable smartphones, the agency said.

“RJio was able to increase its (broadband) market share to 52% in September 2018, from 43% a year ago, while Bharti Airtel’s broadband share increased to 21%, showcasing a marginal year-on-year growth of 2%,” the ratings firm said in a release.

The study also observed that the wireless market share of Reliance Jio for September 2018 increased further to 21.6 percent, which led to decline in gross revenue of other incumbent players. The study notes that Jio had a market share of 20.5 percent in August, and 19.1 percent in July this year. It says that Reliance Jio’s subscriber base grew 5.4 percent month-on-month. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular saw a month-on-month decline of 0.7 percent, 1.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively in their subscriber base.

The data once again shows how Reliance Jio continues to expand its subscriber base while rivals are struggling to retain their subscribers. According to India Ratings and Research, the success of Reliance Jio is owed to aggressive pricing and free entertainment applications. This offerings have helped the company differentiate itself from competitors and also create a loyalty among subscribers.

In September 2018, the telecom sector saw an increase of 2.4 million net wireless subscribers, reports the Economic Times and it was led by Reliance Jio’s increase in subscriber base. While it started the revolution of cheaper data and free calling option in September of 2016, the momentum around its offerings remain strong even two years later.

In September, Reliance Jio reportedly added 13 million subscribers and has gained 113.6 million subscribers during October 2017 and September 2018 period. In comparison, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited added 61.5 million and 37.5 million subscribers during the year. – BGR