Report On Reliance Jio.docx

Change in competitive scenario in Telecom sector in India post Reliance Jio Reliance Jio’s launch has drastically changed the telecom sector and the way Indian users consumed data with its free voice calls and cheap 4G. Free for the first six months after launch, the company’s 4G data services provided consumers the option to watch more online videos and other content than ever before, something that became apparent when India jump ed ahead of the US and China to take the position of world’s biggest consumer of mobile data. Eventually the company’s services did become paid, but that did not stop the Jio juggernaut – primarily because of the ultra-low tariff the company levied for its data – as consumers switched to its Jio Prime subscription service en masse. Of course, the competition matched Jio’s offers too, bringing in cheaper plans that provided bundled calls and much more data than they were providing before. Ultra-cheap data: This is something that we all have experienced since the time Jio has launched. Before the entry of Reliance Jio, data was rather expensive and consumers had to shell out up to Rs. 450 (on some networks) for 1GB of data. The highlight of Jio’s launch offer was the free data it was offering to consumers, with 4GB of high-speed of 4G data per day, followed by continued data at 128kbps speed. Eventually the company had to launch chargeable plans after incumbent operators protested, but even then the tariff was so low that consumers paid roughly Rs. 10 per GB of 4G data - something other operators also started to offer in response. (Needs to be changed) Increased consumption of online content: With the availability of free data for the first six month after the launch of Jio, India saw an exponential rise in the consumption of online content. India’s data consumption went from 20 crore GB to 120 crore GB in six months, the average consumer nowadays uses 10GB data per month. Free voice calls: When Jio launched operations, voice calls (local and STD) became free for all consumers across networks. Following the suit, competitors started offering prepaid and postpaid packs with free local and STD calling and many data options to all networks. Proliferation of 4G smartphones: With Jio offering 4G network for free, the traction for 4G handsets among the affordable segment increased. Post-Jio, 4G VoLTE-capable smartphones started exploding the market for as low as Rs. 2,999. Faster mobile data: According to the data by TRAI’s MySpeed app, Jio offers average download speeds of around 18Mbps, while the incumbents deliver roughly 10Mbps speeds. With 4G becoming the norm in the market, mobile data speeds rose too. The death of 3G: Since the release of 4G, it has been the biggest buzzword in the telecom industry even though most operators still delivered 3G speeds while upgrading to 4G. However, with the start of Jio operations, the migration to 4G networks speeded up, and 3G networks are finally being left behind. In fact, almost all smartphones sold today are 4G compatible. A record in user acquisition: In February 2017, Jio claimed its telecom network had garnered 100 million users in less than six months of operations. At the time, Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said this growth is faster than even what global giants such as Facebook and WhatsApp recorded. This is a record set in user acquisition. Improved broadband Internet availability: India’s telecom regulator TRAI defines broadband speeds as anything above 512kbps or above. With the free Internet, millions of people got access to high-speed 4G services, and Jio became the country’s biggest provider of broadband

Internet – and that’s without the public launch of JioFiber service the company plans to launch soon. Vodafone, Idea Cellular merged: To fend off Jio and its aggressive marketing strategies, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, the second and third-largest operators in the country, announced a merger in March 2017. With the merger, the combined Vodafone-Idea unit would become the largest telecom operator in the country – overtaking market leader Airtel – with nearly 400 million customers, 35 percent user market share, and 41 percent revenue market share. Helped ease the way for online streaming services With ultra-cheap and fast data, people gorge on more audio-visual content online. The Jio suite offers more than 300 live streaming channels and many hundreds of music albums and movies. The company’s own JioTV app, popular video streaming service YouTube, and subscription based streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar will likely be reaching new audiences with this, while DittoTV called Jio the ultimate growth hack. On top of that, Jio’s recent integration with the leading music app Saavn for its digi tal music service JioMusic, it’s all set to conquer the audio streaming segment. This is also taken as a positive development for the industry as through this step, more people will use legal streaming services and this would help in creating a strong revenue opportunity for artistes and creators. An Eros blockbuster, a Viacom18 television serial (Viacom18 is a subsidiary of Network18 owned by Reliance Industries Limited), an ALT web series and Saavn’s established music library (for JioMusic) – all of this at one place, what better can one ask for? Well this doesn’t stop here, Reliance has also signed a multi-year digital content deal with Roy Kapur Films for them to produce exclusive long and short-form content as “Jio originals”. Seems like Jio is looking at media and entertainment in a big way!