Reliance Jio turns 7 | How this 'upstart' changed Indian telecommunication landscape forever

Then comes along Reliance Jio, with its unprecedented free SIM cards market debut, promises of unlimited talk time, no roaming charges, and completely turned the game on its head. Other telcos had no choice but to follow — Airtel, Idea, and Vodafone quickly fell in line and we, as consumers, were all the better for it.

So how exactly did Jio have its 'iPhone' moment in India? Here's a look back.

Reliance Jio first held an invite-only, closed-loop testing involving limited users for its cellular services. My brother was among those to receive a free Jio SIM during this period and reported 4G data speeds of over 20 Mbps — unheard of at a time when we were lucky to clock 6-7 Mbps.

And then, Jio sent ripples across the country by announcing that it would offer free SIM cards for anyone who wished one, starting September 5, 2016. The demand was so fierce that it was not uncommon to see long lines of people outside Reliance Jio and Reliance Digital outlets, waiting for their free SIM cards. It was an unprecedented phenomenon. The waiting period for a Jio SIM turned from days into months, and people didn't mind. That it was free helped, certainly, but the perks that came with the SIM sweetened the pot. India had never had access to cheap data, unlimited calling, and no roaming charges till then.

From an upstart, Jio suddenly became a force to be reckoned with, and it was not long before, as I wrote earlier, that other service providers had to match their plans to remain relevant and competitive.

Till 2016, phone calls and internet usage were separate, and so were treated — and charged — separately. Jio married the two, offering Voice-over LTE (VoLTE) service, which allowed users to place phone calls using mobile data. That's how it offered unlimited calls. Of course, the underlying technology is a lot more complex, but from a layperson's perspective, this is how it worked.

As a result, Jio saw its subscriber count surge, especially in the prepaid segment, with the daily 1/1.5/2 GB data offering being the most popular.

Furthermore, Jio also introduced JioFi, a mobile dongle where users can insert a data-only SIM into and carry it around like a mobile router. It may be a common concept now, but back in 2016, it was quite novel.

Since Jio made its debut, the telecom sector consolidated further. Vodafone and Idea became one entity, leading to a three-pronged telecommunication space.

As per the latest data available with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) — current as of June 30, 2023 — there are 1.44 billion mobile subscribers in India, with a 55:45 urban-rural split.

In his recent address at the 46th Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Annual General Meeting, Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said Jio posted an all-time high revenue of Rs 1,19,791 crore and an EBITDA of Rs 50,286 crore in the previous fiscal.

He added that Jio's overall customer base has now crossed 450 million subscribers, reflecting year-on-year revenue growth of over 20 percent. Per-user data consumption on Jio’s network has also surged, with the average user now consuming over 25 GB every month. This translates to monthly data traffic of 1,100 crore GB, representing a 45 percent year-on-year growth, Ambani had added. During its first-quarter results, Jio reported an average revenue per user (ARPU) or Rs 174.80.

The telco also announced a partnership with Netflix on prepaid bundled packs.

From the start, there were murmurs that Jio would similarly disrupt the Indian broadband space, which too had been dominated by a few companies over the years. This service, rumoured to be called 'Jio GigaFiber,' soon became official as JioFiber in August, 2018. Jio took a similar approach, with a closed-loop pilot in a couple of cities before a gradual rollout. Jio promised high-speed, affordable internet, and it seems to have resonated with consumers as, according to the same TRAI report, Reliance leads in both wireline (9.71 million) and wireless broadband services (438 million).

From a telecom service provider, Reliance Jio rapidly expanded its portfolio — from offering exclusive deals on the latest smartphones from Apple, Samsung, et al, to launching its own mobile handsets and other gadgets, Jio is rapidly expanding its presence, especially in the realm of Internet of Things (IoT).

On its online store, Reliance Jio currently offers these devices, including mobile handsets, a VR device (JioDive), mesh routers, and more.

Joining this lineup will be Jio AirFiber, a portable, 5G mobile hotspot device, which will officially launch on Ganesh Chaturthi, September 19.

Reliance Jio also offers a bouquet of first-party apps, including JioCinema, which is home to the Indian Premier League, HBO shows, and more.

Here's a list of all the Jio first-party apps

JioTV — A super app.

JioGames — Gaming.

JioCinema — OTT.

JioSaavn — Music streaming.

JioNews — News.

JioMart — Retail.

JioPOS Lite — Register as a Jio Associate and earn commissions by recharging for Jio customers.

JioHealthhub — Book tests, consult doctors and access reports.

JioMeet — Online meetings.

JioPages — Web browser.

JioChat — A messaging platform.

JioCall — Audio/video calling platform.

JioHome — Smart home solutions.

JioCloud — Backup for files and data.

JioGate — Security app for housing societies.

Reliance Jio started rolling out its 5G services last October, offering 'True 5G' to its users. For a limited time period —  which is still on — Jio is offering unlimited 5G data to users at no extra cost. This could change in the future, but for now, there is no cap on how much 5G data one can use. Sure enough, Airtel followed suit, offering its subscribers unlimited 5G data as well.

As of right now, Jio and Airtel are the only two telecom service providers offering 5G services in India. Vodafone Idea, which participated in last year's mega 5G spectrum auction, says it will roll out 5G services soon, but there's no clarity on when.

In my experience, Jio lagged Airtel in 5G speeds in the final quarter of 2022 — Airtel's 5G speed went up to 600-700 Mbps, while Jio struggled to touch 50 Mbps, in the same spot. While this was still a considerable improvement over the 6-7 Mbps I would get (at the same spot) on 4G, it was far from what Jio claimed it could offer — up to 1 Gbps — on its standalone 5G network, which is a network of towers built specifically for 5G and not piggybacking on existing infrastructure.

Then, at the beginning of 2023, something changed, and Jio's speeds reached mind-boggling heights in my experience. Jio would regularly give me 700-800 Mbps, while Airtel remained steady — no rise or drop in its speeds. The highest speed I clocked on Jio's 5G network was 1,176 Mbps, or more then 1 Gbps, which is insane!

See for yourself.

And all of this at a relatively low latency of 25 milliseconds.

Of course, it stands to reason that the speeds currently on offer will correct themselves once more people adopt 5G services, but nonetheless, we are in a good place right now, regardless of which service provider you use.

In June 2022, Akash Ambani replaced his father Mukesh as chairman of Jio Infocomm — the parent of Jio Platforms.

He took over at a pivotal time, just ahead of the 5G rollout. During his tenure, after months of phased rollout, Jio Platforms announced that it met its 5G rollout obligations in all circles.

At the recent AGM, Akash Ambani took to the stage to unveil the roadmap for Jio.