Reliance Jio crowned world’s biggest data company

• India’s nationwide 5G network is now complete
• It boasts 130 million 5G subscribers and owns 85% of the network’s base stations
• It is now the world’s largest data market
• It will also “democratise” AI for the masses
• Talk about “talking telephone numbers”! It’s hard to know where to start

Jio of India is one of the most remarkable telecoms success stories of recent times. In just eight years, Jio has grown to such heights that it is now the world’s biggest data company, carrying 8% of global data over its networks and, on the way, has transformed India (now the most populous country on earth), into the world’s largest data market. The company is having an immense impact across the sub-continent.

The telco Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is part of Jio Platforms (JPL) and comes under the overall umbrella of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the huge Indian multinational conglomerate with interests in energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, entertainment, textiles and mass media, as well as telecoms. Jio operates an LTE network across the entirety of India, provides 5G, 4G and 4G+ services and says its plans for 6G are well advanced. 

Speaking at yesterday’s annual general meeting (AGM) of RIL, the company’s chairman, Mukesh Ambani, said Jio has now completed its nationwide rollout of 5G and, for the foreseeable future, expects to sign up a million new subscribers a month to its home broadband service.

Mukesh Ambani explained the secret of Jio’s success. “In eight years, Jio has grown to become the world’s largest mobile data company. Our commitment to affordability has made its services accessible to all, with current data prices one-fourth of global average and just 10% of those in developed countries.” He added that, on average, the network’s 490 million subscribers consume  more than 30 GB of data per month and that has driven a 33% growth in data traffic in a single year.

As might be expected given the above numbers, JPL, in terms of net profit, is one of the top-12 companies in India, having achieved an 11.7% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first quarter of its new (2025) financial year. Jio’s balance sheet will improve further as most of the spending on its now-complete 5G network is over and capital expenditure will ease as a result. As of today, the telco currently has more than 130 million 5G users and owns upwards of 85% of the nation’s 5G base stations. A remarkable position.

To add yet more gilt to the gingerbread, JioAirFiber, Jio’s 5G-based domestic Wi-Fi service, which was only launched in October 2023, acquired 1 million customers in the first six months and then signed up the next million in just 100 days. It also has 30 million subscribers to its digital TV services and content. Jio expects to double its revenues and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) “in the next three to four years.” The whole thing is going gangbusters.

On the enterprise front, more than a million SMEs subscribe to Jio, as do more than 80% of India’s top 5,000 companies. The target is to attract at least 20 million SMEs within the next couple of years. Additionally, as more subscribers sign up to 5G services, pressure on 4G bandwidth is reducing, and Jio is using that bonus capacity to provide enhanced services to India’s hitherto almost forgotten millions who could only afford 2G handsets.

Now, more than 50% of 2G customers are upgrading to a comparatively inexpensive JioBharat handset and its attendant platform. They are not smartphones but are described as “entry-level 4G phones at prices lower than 2G phones.” They provide users with internet access and a wide range of digital services come as standard, including high-definition voice calling, a micro-payments facility via JioPay, a good camera and access to entertainment, such as JioCinema and  FM Radio.

Finally, Mukesh Ambani also announced that Jio intends to “democratise” AI by providing devices and services to the huge mass of India’s population at affordable prices. He didn’t say how or when, but he pushed the AI button hard over the course of a two-hour AGM presentation. Given Jio’s astonishing growth, Ambani’s seemingly boundless ambition for the company, and the Indian population’s great liking for Jio’s apps and services, it is entirely possible that democratic AI will be a feature of the world’s biggest democracy in a few years’ time. After all, RIL is already planning green-powered “gigawattscale AI-ready datacentres.” What next?

– Martyn Warwick, Editor in Chief, TelecomTV