World's largest consumer of mobile data traffic, Reliance Jio surpasses China Mobile
The company also noted that customer engagement remained strong and consistent, as evidenced by a 35.2% year-on-year increase in total data traffic to 40.9 billion GB during the quarter
Reliance Jio, the leading telecom operator in India, has achieved a milestone by becoming the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic consumption, surpassing China Mobile.
Jio’s network handled a massive 40.9 exabytes of data in the first quarter of 2024, compared to China Mobile’s 38 exabyte according to Tefficient, a global analytics firm.
Jio’s True5G network nationwide boasts of a subscriber base of more than 108 million. Currently, Jio’s 5G network handles more than 28% of the company’s wireless data traffic. Notably, all 5G data is transmitted through its proprietary 5G+4G combination core infrastructure.
The company reported a 12% increase in net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter compared to the previous year, reaching Rs 5,583 crore. This growth was attributed to subscriber numbers and expansion of wireline services, resulting in an improved subscriber mix. Jio Platforms’ EBIDTA for the quarter ending March 2024 saw a 12.5% year-on-year increase to Rs 14,360 crore, driven by higher revenue and sustained margin enhancements.
The company also noted that customer engagement remained strong and consistent, as evidenced by a 35.2% year-on-year increase in total data traffic to 40.9 billion GB during the quarter.
While Jio continues to maintain a stronghold over India’s telecom sector, increasingly finding its way into Indian homes and smartphones, the company has a long way to go in terms of achieving and even surpassing Airtel’s ARPU (Average revenue per user). Experts suggest that Jio, which has been focusing aggressively on subscriber acquisition for a long time, will have to hike its tariffs twice in the next 3 years, with each hike estimated to be between 15-20%.
Currently, Jio’s ARPU, which has been stagnant for the last 3 quarters, stands at Rs 182. On the other hand, Airtel’s ARPU presently stands at Rs 208. However, analysts expect Jio’s ARPU to reach Rs 235 by FY27. However, Airtel’s ARPU is also expected to touch Rs 286 over the next 3 years, staying in close quarters with its counterpart’s average revenue per user.