Reliance Jio Gets 300 Million Users, Still Falls Short of Airtel

The Reliance-owned telecom operator has reached this figure in less than three years since its operation.

Telecom operator Reliance Jio has crossed the 300 million customers mark in two-and-a-half years of its operations, sources said. The milestone was reached on 2 March, they added.

Queries sent to Jio on the matter remained unanswered.

However, in its television commercials during the ongoing IPL season, Jio is shown 'Celebrating 300 million users'. Jio became the fastest company in the world to achieve 100 million telecom subscribers in 170 days of starting commercial operation.

In its earnings report for the quarter ended December 2018, Bharti Airtel had disclosed that it had 284 million customers.

However, as per regulatory filings, Bharti Airtel reported having 340.2 million customers on its network in December and 340.3 million customers at the end of January.

Bharti Airtel crossed the 300 million customers mark in 19th year of its operations, comparing this to Jio’s feat would be harsh, as the Reliance-owned telco was running its business initially by offering data free of cost to consumers.  

Even after grabbing over 300 million users, Jio still sits below Airtel and Vodafone Idea in the market share charts. The merger of Vodafone and Idea Cellular made it the largest telecom player in the country with 400 million customers and expansive set of 3G and 4G network across the country.

Jio continues to offer its data plans at lower price than its competition, which has come down from five or six telcos to three full-fledged companies in the Indian market.