Reliance Jio added a whopping 9.8 million new customers in March

Reliance Jio has added to its network a record number of new customers with the net addition being at 9.42 million in the March month taking its total subscriber base to a whopping 186.56 million. Jio hit the telecommunication market with its aggressive pricing policy and never seen before expansion policy. After serving its users completely free for the first six months, Jio came up with dirt cheap prepaid plans that swept over the data market. Everbody bought a Jio sim and the other networks witnessed prolonged wait for a customer to recharge their phone.

"Top five service providers constituted 95.23 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of March 2018. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (186.56 million), Bharti Airtel (85.67 million), Vodafone (59.77 million), Idea Cellular (39.84 million) and BSNL (21.08 million)," Trai said in its report.

The Jio effect has been reflecting in the pricing policies of other market players. Such has been Jio's magic that it has now become the trendsetter for other telecommunication operators. There were times when the customers paid for the voice call in minutes and seconds, however, with Jio around, voice calling has been made unlimited and it has now become the norm.

Major Indian telecommunication operators have been blaming Reliance Jio on the issues of revenue generation and profitability, they have also been blaming the rock-bottom tariffs being offered by the Reliance Jio that has made the telecom sector bleed.

However, last month, TRAI said it will impose financial disincentive of up to Rs 50 lakh per circle on the operators in case their service rates are found to be predatory in nature or for that matter found to be based with eliminating the competitors from the market, in their working.

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