Jio closes the gap as Indian market continues growth

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released its monthly update on telco subscribers across the country, and Jio is continuing to erode the gap with its rivals.

On the whole, the Indian telco market is continuing to grow. Wireless subscriptions increased by 1.37%, adding just over 15 million new subscriptions to the armoury taking the total up to 1.14 billion across the country.

What is slightly encouraging is the fairly balanced uptake; there might be a social divide between the rural and urban communities, but this difference does not seem to be compounded by digital as the revolution sweeps throughout the nation. In the urban regions, wireless subs increased 1.27% to 633 million, while it was 1.49% to 512 million in the rural areas.

Looking at the individual winners, Jio has been hoovering up subscriptions, though Idea Cellular has also made an impact this quarter. Perhaps this is a sign the Jio effect is starting to fade, as it would appear growth has been amassed from new subscriptions as opposed to eroding the customer base of competitors.

Momentum is still with Jio galloping up the market share rankings, though with the competitors stabilising their own numbers it might appear the major disruption is over. That is, until Jio decides to launch another ridiculous offer, or in a few years’ time when 5G appears in the country. Looking at the ridiculous Jio idea, you can’t help but assume it might come in the form of a convergence play.

Wireless subscriptions are shooting upwards, though broadband is certainly not on the same trajectory. As it stands there are only 22 million broadband subscriptions in the country out of almost 250 million households. Over the course of June, broadband subscriptions actually declined 0.5%. Jio has already told us the next wave of disruption will come in the broadband space, and when combined with its media and entertainment assets, there is a huge opportunity to run a convergence play.

Stealing subscriptions by undercutting can only go on for so long, but now Indian consumers have become addicted to the taste of the internet through mobile, the broadband opportunity becomes a lot more appealing. Jio has a huge mobile customer base, which it can continue to grow, though leveraging this asset by launching additional services could be a very profitable idea.