In the battle of Telecom companies in India, there are only two big names on the field—Reliance Jio and Airtel. Yes, Vodafone has a large user base and they have made some cute ads that have wooed many. But, when it comes to growth, innovation, and even direct competition with other companies, Voda lags. In fact, its service revenue has dropped 31 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
In terms of market share, Airtel has the largest user base. Followed by Vodafone and Reliance Jio. Then comes Idea and BSNL.
However, even when at #3, Jio recorded one of the biggest growth rates in the third quarter of the financial year 2018. At the same time, Bharti Airtel, sitting at #1, lost some market share to other telecom companies in India.
If you look at it closely and from a business point-of-view, it’s a great feat that Jio has achieved in just a few years of its existence. Plus, it managed to make more than anticipated revenue—something that so many telecom companies in India struggle even with years of existence and decent infrastructure.
Reliance Jio has been extremely aggressive in its pricing. And it is something that has bugged many in the industry, upgrading the competition level in the market. And honestly, only Airtel has really managed to keep up with it, going toe-to-toe with the muscle power of Mukesh Ambani owned Jio. In the current tariff war, it’s a game of Jio and Airtel. While Vodafone, too, is desperately trying to keep up but its pricing is not as aggressive. Plus, a not-so-fast 4G network further worsens its case.
In short, I don’t know about Vodafone, Airtel sure is trying its best to compete with Jio’s giant leaps. I won’t switch right now. Let’s wait and watch.
(Courtesy: Digit.in)