much as possible. In doing so, Jio may
well replicate what large technology
giants like Facebook and Google
have achieved around the world.
The other consequence of Jio’s
aggressive market approach has been
a consolidation in the Indian telecom
market, where only the survival of
the fittest is possible. The financials
of several incumbents like Bharti
Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone
India have come under pressure, as
these telcos sought to protect their
turf against Jio by dropping prices.
It’s not just the end-consumer
who has been the beneficiary of low-
cost data. Lawyers and investment
bankers, who have been helping
telecom firms stitch up all kinds of
deals, have also benefited from it.
For instance, Vodafone and Idea
Cellular have agreed to merge
operations (the deal is yet to be
consummated); and Tata Teleservices
has decided to hive off its wireless
business on a no-cash, no-debt
basis to Bharti Airtel. Also, Reliance
Communications and Aircel had
proposed an amalgamation of
their wireless services business,
but that deal fell through due to
regulatory and legal hurdles.
As Eagle of Jana puts it, the
competition in most telecom circles
has now become a three-way contest
between Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-
Idea, versus the nine or 10 telcos
battling it out in each region earlier.
There are indications that the
trend of declining tariffs in the Indian
telecom sector may have bottomed out
and, going forward, the competition
will be on quality of services.
Ambani had also pointed out:
Why should high-quality wireless
connectivity and value-added services
only be the purview of the more
affluent Indians who can afford the
latest in smartphone technology?
With the aim of truly
democratising data and helping
people at the bottom of the pyramid
realise its benefits, Jio announced
its next major transformational
offering in July when it unveiled
the JioPhone: A feature phone that
will effectively cost users nothing,
apart from a refundable deposit of
`1,500 and a monthly tariff of `153.
This voice-enabled phone can notonly make calls and send messages,
but also access a library of wide-
ranging content and be used as a
mirroring device to watch videos on
TV, using a specially designed cable.
The product, which has been
designed in India, is meant for the
over 500 million telecom users that
don’t have access to smartphones
yet. An HSBC Global Research
report states that 6 million units
of this phone have already been
pre-booked. “It stands out as a
differentiated product in the feature
phone segment as it scores relatively
better on data functionalities and
voice commands,” say analysts
Rajiv Sharma and Darpan Thakkar
in their research report. “For first-
time data users unable to afford a
smartphone, representing around
60 percent of the overall wireless
market, this is a viable option.”
With the kind of start that Jio has
managed, in just over a year since
its launch, Ambani appears well on
his way to be the harbinger of the
exponential change he referred to.
(Reliance Industries is the owner of
Network 18, the publisher of Forbes India)mukesh ambani (extreme right) with wife nita (to his right) and children (from left) akash, anant and isha
december 29, 2017 forbes india | 49