Reliance Jio - the game changer for Indian Telecom Industry
- In Current Affairs
- 03:40 PM, Sep 05, 2016
- Ranabir Bhattacharyya
The era of the then fading Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi witnessed the first telecom revolution in India, when Local/STD/ISO booths reduced the physical distance to the wired receivers. A decade later, the arrival of mobile phones in India witnessed another revolution. Although the tariffs were high for both outgoing and ongoing calls, they gradually reduced. One can certainly remember those bulky Nokia or Motorola mobile sets which not only brought a change in Indian Tele-communication industry, but also ushered in new hope in the Indian mobile communication domain.
The last half of the past decade also witnessed the arrival of the smart phones, which opened the gateway of internet communication. And then, Mukesh Ambani and his 'datagiri' simply infused the much needed renaissance to the Indian smart phone domain, complementing the much needed 'Digital India' ambitions of the Indian PM Narendra Modi. The announcement of Reliance Jio has been considered to be a huge strategic move from Mukesh Ambani's company, probably the biggest one ever since the announcement of Reliance monsoon hungama in 2003.
Indeed, Mukesh Ambani's rousing speech at 42nd Annual General meeting in Mumbai has given new hope to Indian tele-communication domain. Until last year there was a public conception that Reliance Jio was a blow to neutrality, the new announcements have been carefully looked at, not only by the competitors but also seasoned experts as well. Mukesh Ambani was probably right in saying, "If you are not digital in this era, you will not survive, you will become irrelevant, and remain left behind. India cannot remain left behind. Jio is conceived to change this. With the launch of Jio, India’s rank among cellular country users will shoot up to the top 10 list."
Understanding 'Jio Welcome Offer'
As far as the official announcement of Reliance is concerned, Jio 4G services will commence from 5th September. And the brand new 'Jio Welcome Offer' is indeed a lucrative one with free Jio 4G SIM card. Users can simply submit their documents via e-KYC and opt for internet and high-speed data transfer. In this special scheme, users won't need to pay anything for 4G till December 31st.
For present users of other telecom services, Jio has flexible rules, even allowing them to opt for Jio Welcome Offer. The highlight of the Welcome Jio Offer is unlimited 4G data at night and unlimited free voice calling. As far as free voice calling is considered, many experts consider it
to be a masterstroke and a paradigm change in Indian context. It is crystal clear that voice calling is not the sole tagline for mobile phones anymore, rather the era of smart phones gives more emphasis to uninterrupted and fast internet connectivity. The range of Jio apps giving the users swift access to music, video, chat and other necessary essentials makes Jio a complete package. Be it Jio Money or Jio Drive or Jio TV, it is incredible to see Jio shaping up to international standard. Nevertheless, high speed internet remains the backbone for Reliance Jio. Overall, Reliance Jio has got all inputs to have mass appeal in the smart phone domain in India.
Will the arrival of Reliance Jio have possible impact on the tariffs of other telecom carriers?
Mukesh Ambani's announcement had a far reaching impact in the share market as well as on the shares of Bharti Airtel, Idea witnessed a huge fall around Rs 13,800 crores. Certainly, it goes without any saying that the Reliance Jio offers will indeed create a new benchmark and in the coming days, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea may soon be introducing free voice calls. As far as 4G network connectivity is concerned, users are going to be benefitted in the stiff telecom war with faster internet speed and lower tariff.
Was it unethical on part of Reliance to use Narendra Modi's picture in the huge advertisement promoting Reliance Jio?
There has been considerable controversy with regard to Indian PM Narendra Modi's picture being used in the full front-page advertisement. Although seasoned opportunistic politicians like Kejriwal have criticized Narendra PM for being featured in the ad, it is quite clear that neither Narendra Modi nor the Indian Government had been any part to the Reliance Jio launch or its lucrative offers. From a logical approach, it can be affirmed, if the launch of Reliance Jio can bring much benefit to the smart phone users of India and promote Digital India campaign, it would be India's gain in the long run.
Comments