Reliance Jio pips Airtel to become No.2 telco in India

Reliance Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries, outpaced Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel to become India's second-largest operator in terms of subscribers as of May, government data showed. Vodafone Idea remained the top telecom operator by subscribers in the country

Reliance Jio reported net additon of 81.8 lakh users to its subscriber base during May, as per data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In contrast, both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel lost 56.97 lakh and 15.08 lakh users, respectively, over the month. The overall tele-density in India declined from 90.05 at the end of April 2019 to 89.92 at the end of May 2019, the TRAI report showed.

The TRAI data for May 2019 showed that Vodafone Idea boasted a biggest subscriber base of 38.75 crore users, followed by Reliance Jio at 32.29 crore. Bharti Airtel, once the biggest telecom operator in the country, slipped to the third place with 32.03 crore users. State-owned BSNL commanded a sbscriber base of 11.58 crore users.

Jio, controlled by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, has disrupted the telecom industry in the country since it was launched in 2016, offering cheap bundles. The ensuing tariff war has taken its toll on the sector, even resulting in shutdowns.

In its financial result for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, Reliance Jio reported a net profit of of Rs 891 crore, up by 45.6 per cent on an annual basis, in comparios to Rs 612 crore reported during the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. The revenue from operation for the company increased 44.02 per cent to Rs 11,695 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 8,110 crore reported during June quarter of FY19.

Reliance Jio saw its EBITDA rise 49 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during the June quarter of FY20 to Rs 4,686 crore. The EBITDA margin of the company was at 40.1 per cent during the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

Regarding its much-hyped fiber-to-the-home services, Reliance Jio said that the beta testing for the same is in final stage and the initial signs have been encouraging. The company also said that enterprises services are also being rolled out gradually.