Jio likely to continue to offer discounts to rule the market

Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to pursue its pricing strategy of sharp discounts and complimentary services for the next 12-18 months, sources close to the development said. Looks like the tarrif war is nowhere nearing an end in the near term.

Jio started services on September 5 and has netted 6 per cent of the country’s wireless subscribers aiming to get at least 15 per cent. By March 31, the subscriber base had risen to 109 million, an incremental 9 million in 40 days or an average of 2.25 lakh per day. 

The relative slowing down of customer additions was because Jio had already penetrated a large share of almost 134 million available 4G phones in India as of March 31. The subscriber addition pace will be capped by new 4G phone additions in the coming months.

Reliance Jio’s target to get a decent paying subscriber base would keep the hyper-competitive scenario alive for the industry in the medium term. The company’s profit and loss statement from the second quarter of FY18 would command further direction for parent company Reliance Industries.