Jio-Fication Complete? Telecom Operator On Course To Become India’s Largest By 2019

Telecom operator Reliance Jio riding on the sharp increase of its customer base may soon become the leading wireless telecom company in India, Mint has reported. According to analysts at the Kotak Institutional Equities Research, if the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) unit maintains its momentum, it may emerge as the largest telecom company by the end of 2018.

“If Bharti does not report a material beat on our estimated wireless revenues for the quarter, Reliance Jio has perhaps crossed Bharti on net India wireless revenues to become number two after Vodafone Idea. If the current trends continue, Reliance Jio will likely become number one on net revenues as early as 3Q (third quarter) of FY19,” the note adds.

In the second quarter of 2019, Reliance Jio now leads Bharti Airtel’s wireless revenues, by a margin of four hundred to five hundred crore rupees. “We expect Bharti Airtel’s net India wireless revenues (reported gross wireless revenues less estimated gross interconnect revenues) to be around Rs 87-88 billion for the second quarter of FY19. Reliance Jio’s reported revenues of Rs 9240 crores are net of interconnect revenues as the company adjusts interconnect revenues in the interconnect costs line,” analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities Research have said in a note.

The company has recently crossed the 25 crore mark by adding 3.7 crore customers during the second quarter, taking its total customer base to 25.23 crore at the end of the September quarter. Despite some pullbacks because of the ban on Aadhaar-based Know Your Customer (KYC), Reliance is still concentrating on expanding its consumer base.