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Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani is on Tuesday expected to make a major announcement on the future plans of Reliance Jio, the telecom arm that has shaken the sector over the past six months. Ambani at a recent interactive session at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum 2017 said the company has crossed 100 million subscriber mark in a very short span of time. “When we started Jio we set a target of 100 million customers in shortest time. Even we didn’t imagine we will do it in months. Aadhaar enabled us to acquire a million customers a day, which is unheard of in the industry,” Ambani said. [caption id=“attachment_3294174” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mukesh Ambani. AFP[/caption]The quick rise of the company is forcing the debt-ridden sector to transform and even move towards consolidation. While Vodafone India is in talks with Idea for a possible merger, there are reports that Tata Teleservices and MTS may be looking to merge with Reliance Communication-Aircel combine. If these deals indeed happen, it will change the pecking order in the sector, with Airtel leading the pack and Vodafone-Idea and RCom-Aircel-Tata-MTS following. However, the merger of Tata-MTS with RCom Aircel seems a tall order given the financial position and the litigations the companies are involved. Whatever its impact on the sector, one thing is for sure: the company has indeed disrupted the market. “Jio was conceived at a time when the world was fast digitising. What the Jio platform offers is partner with the next generation to solve problems for India to make sure our industries are more productive,” Ambani said at the Nasscom event. “To my mind, data is the new natural resource. In that sense, India is blessed with 1.3 billion people, for it to have real value it has to be processed into intelligence. Data is the new oil and its benefit is immense to society. India with its young population will have a competitive advantage,” he added. An IANS report recently said the balance-sheet of Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications were under major pressure in the third quarter (October-December) as Jio’s entry continued to impact their businesses and strategies. “Margin pressure on telcos will continue as long the free data offer from Reliance Jio continues. As and when Reliance Jio decides to withdraw its offer and start charging for its data services, then it will be a different matter,” Arpita Pal Agrawal, partner and leader, Telecom Industry Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers India, told IANS. “Customers will then compare telco offerings on parameters such as price points, throughput speed, tariff bundles, service experience to decide about their preferred operator option,” she added. As announced earlier, Reliance Jio plans to offer free data to its customers till March 2017. Bharti Airtel’s net profit for the third quarter of 2016-17 dropped by 55 percent while Idea Cellular reported a loss of Rs 478.9 crore for the same quarter. Reliance Communications too posted a net loss of Rs 531 crore in the quarter. Vodafone India, the other big telecom operator, is not yet listed on any Indian bourse. Mahesh Uppal, director, Com First, a telecom consultancy firm, also said there is no doubt that the revenue drop in the third quarter was a direct consequence of Reliance Jio’s aggressive free data offers. “Incumbent companies, like Airtel and Idea, are being forced to match the prices to remain competitive. The cut-throat pricing is likely to continue since Reliance Jio would want to use it to acquire a decent market share,” Uppal told IANS. “India is a very price sensitive market; any such offering tends to be disruptive. Incumbent operators need to implement strategies to retain their high-value customers,” Rishi Tejpal, Principal Research Analyst for Telecom Business Strategy at Gartner, told IANS. “Operators need to implement data-oriented pricing strategies. Jio’s free voice service with free national roaming is a compelling offering and incumbents need to match their offerings to remain competitive,” he added.
Reliance Jio Live: Mukesh Ambani launches Rs 303 per month plan; Airtel shares down 2.5%
Mukesh Ambani is expected to announce the growth strategy for Reliance Jio going ahead
 "Reliance Jio Live: Mukesh Ambani launches Rs 303 per month plan; Airtel shares down 2.5%")
Mukesh Ambani launches Rs 303 per month plan; Airtel shares down 2.5%
Enrolment will start from 1 March and will remain open till 31 March 2017.
Jio Prime members will continue to get the unlimited benefits they have got in the Jio New Year offer for one more a year until 31 March 2018.
Only the Jio Prime members can get this package at Rs 303 per month, or Rs 10 a day, for another full year.
Details of other value plans for Jio Prime Members are through myjio app and the website.
Mukesh Ambani announces Jio Prime, membership at Rs 99 for 1 year
In order to show the gratitude to the cusomters, the company launches new product, Jio Prime.
The membership programme for Jio Prime is for current users and those who will join on or before March 31 this year. Customers can join at Rs 99 for one year.
By 2018-end, co will cover 99% of India’s population, says Mukesh Ambani
By the end of 2018, Jio network will be present in all the cities, villages and cover 99 percent of the country’s population, promises Ambani.
According to him, superior network and customer experience is making Jio the operator of choice.
With Aadhaar-based processes, mobile portability has becom easier. “I hope more jio based users will opt for MNP and make it permanent,” Ambani says.
“Jio is trained to be a customer obsessed organisation. We are obsessed to deliver world class quality,” he says.
Jio provided jobs for 50 lakh people; users consumed 100 GB data
Jio provided sustainable employment for 50 lakh people. Last month, Jio users consumed more than 100 GB of data. India is no 1 country for mobile data usage, says Mukesh Ambani.
Crosses 100 million customer mark; milestone belongs to everyone who trusted it
Mukesh Ambani starts his address
Today is a historical day, he says. Jio launched its serives on September 5th. Jio has crossed the 100 mn customer mark. “This milestone belongs to everyone who believed in it,” he said.
Also watch out for the stock movement of Airtel, Idea, RCom
On the day of the commercial launch of Jio’s operations, on 1 September, investors pummelled the shares of the rival telecom companies. While Idea Cellular witnessed the biggest fall of 10.5 percent on the day, RCom declined 8.81 percent and Bharti Airtel 6.37 percent.
Investors in Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel, Tata Tele Maharashtra, Idea Cellular and RCom lost a combined Rs 13,617 crore on the day.
However, the shares, barring RCom, have fared well in the days after that. While Idea shares have risen 30 percent, Bharti Airtel is up 21 percent during 1 September-20 February.
Will Mukesh Ambani make announcement on future growth strategy?
As Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani is about to make major announcement on its telecom arm Reliance Jio, speculation is rife that he will chart out the future growth strategy for the company.
According to reports, Ambani is also likely to announce the company crossing 100 million subscriber mark in just about six months.
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