A lot of people know about Jio — and a lot of people love Jio — but few really understand what it is. Covered in confusion by all the new buzzwords like internet access, mobile phone service, and universal service obligation (ISPA), users of the sixth largest telecom operator in the world have been left with confused questions about how much they can trust their telco and what its future holds. After six years of unrestrained growth, Jio is now on track to become the fifth-largest telecom operator in India. How will this transformation happen? Let’s see.
Why is Jio the next big thing?
In a recent survey, it was found that roughly one-in-five people have no idea what Jio is, much less what it can do for them. But why is that? It’s not just the general state of awareness — it’s also the fact that many people are still struggling to understand what Jio is and why they should trust it with their personal information. This is particularly worrying as you may have heard that Jio plans to become the main competitor to India’s largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio. How will this affect your day-to-day life? The average Internet connection in India is just over 10 Mbps — less than 1% of that is connected to the Internet. How does this compare to the whopping 37 Mbps on offer from Jio? What about voice and data communication? Most people assume that voice and data communication will work the same as it has for the past decade or so. That is, whenever you’ve needed to make a call, sent an email, or access social media, you can now do so via voice and data. Not so much. Voice and data only work if you have the right set of skills and equipment. You’ll still need a phone, of course, but a phone with a voice and data capabilities will work wonders for you. Even if you don’t have a sign-up for a voice plan, you can still use your existing signal. In other words, voice and data communication will work the same no matter which way you look at it.
How it’s changing the game
As the biggest Telephone Company in the world, Jio is by far and large the face of the telecom industry in India. And yet, most people don’t know that it was the original “face of the industry”. Instead, they’re more likely to remember the name of its largest competitor, which is now a competitor too. The Big Six are the original five telecom operators with dominance in the Indian market, and they’ve each seen immense growth since they entered the market in the early 2000s. All of the Big Six have seen rapid expansion since then, and Jio is now the biggest player in the industry. When it comes to the future of voice & data communication, it’s important to remember that voice communications are still in their infancy. Even with voice services available, it’s still very early for people to be using them in a serious way.
What services are available via Jio
There are many different plans and services available through Jio, but most people are likely to choose the basic tier, which comes with year-round service and unlimited talk, email, and data usage. You’ll also likely see a few plans that come with voice services, and these are called “ Teams”. If you want to enjoy the benefits of voice and data communication with your favorite teams, you should consider buying a team. However, if you only want data services, you can always buy a pure voice plan. When it comes to Jio’s stake-holding mechanism, most people aren’t aware that this is a contractual obligation that Jio has with the operators it works with. While most people assume that Jio owns all the operators, it actually works with about a dozen currently. Note that these are not the same companies that are currently trading the stock.
Consumer behavior is driving the transformation
In a recent survey, it was found that the general feeling among consumers is that they don’t trust the telecom industry in general and Jio in particular. The same survey also found that they don’t trust the companies they currently work with and most notably, they don’t trust telecom companies that have been paying their contractors for months and years. In this data-driven world, where companies are constantly investing and exploring new ways to grow, it’s clear that consumers are more than willing to give any company a chance in the market. In fact, it’s hard to believe that Jio’s success this year has come only from the greed of the telecom sector. Now that’s leadership.
Lock in of incumbents — and the bad effect on competition
This is the one issue that a lot of people have about Jio. It promises to be a revolution for the industry and a great opportunity for new businesses. But how does it all work? Well, first of all, incumbents are being tightly controlled at the moment. They have been for the last few years, but the trend is now in the opposite direction. First, there is a long-term trend among Indian companies to scale up their operations and invest more in R&D. This is due to a number of reasons, and one of them is the increase in competition. At the same time, there is also a shift in the way people consume content and data. They are now more interested in seeing the innovation, not only the product. The big three players in the Indian market — Airtel, Google, and Skype — are all in the top ten for the number of times someone said they were going to buy their product. This is not aimed at Jio, but at the big four. In short, incumbents are being tightly controlled and this is hurting their revenue, sales, and profits. The trend is also in the direction of more competition, so it’s important to be ready for it.
Key takeaways
Although Jio has seen massive growth in the last decade, it is still a relatively new player in the Indian market. It has a long way to go in terms of getting there. The incumbents in the Indian market that have not been weakened, and are instead being pushed to the brink of extinction, will remain the most Vitally Important Company in the Indian industry for the next 50 years.
