JIO MONOPOLY MAY PUT YOUR YOUR NETWORK PROVIDER IN DANGER

Before we jump to the main context, I would like to share a brief story related to the topic

Every day a milkman comes to my flat to deliver cow milk. For some reason, he is still using an old Nokia 3310. I asked him the reason behind his old-school gadget. He shared that he has several overhead expenses, such as rent, business-related charges, food, school fees, etc. Given all these, he barely thinks about the device upgrade. Plus, it wouldn’t be surprising if most of the citizens were using old devices.

The Serious Bit

As of March 2024, the cheapest smartphone in India is Jio Bharat which costs Rs 999. It supports 4G. Here is a list of Jio phones that you can purchase under Rs 5,000. 

Now, keeping the milkman’s current device in mind, Jio has called on the government to shut down 2G and 3G services across the country, so that users can only choose 4G or 5G services. According to Jio, this will increase the growth rate of 4G and 5G network towers and their capabilities.

In 2016, Jio launched free unlimited 4G offers to attract users, but this time they decided to talk to the government to reduce unnecessary expenses on 2G and 3G networks. 

Benefits can bring everyone closer, therefore, Vodafone-Idea supported Jio’s initiative and requested the government to consider the pitched suggestion. 

Vi (Vodafone-Idea) has taken one step further and suggested that the government should open the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) corpus to provide handset subsidies. They also suggested the government to utilize Rs. 77113 crore from the USOF corpus. But, unfortunately, Vi has been struggling to expand its own 5G network in the country.

Currently, everyone is treating 5G as a free birthday cake, and everyone wants to taste it, but Jio always looks for monopolies, and even in this case, they are making game-changing strategies. 

In addition, Jio expanded its ‘True 5G’ network under the Jio-OnePlus partnership, formed in 2022. Reliance Jio Infocomm has been accelerating the 5G network expansion by using the Standalone Architecture (SA) since October 2022. 

Last, but not least, Jio also mentioned that its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service (also called Jio AirFiber) will have coverage across India in the first half of 2024, according to Indian press reports. 

Closing Words

Jio, Vodafone-Idea and Airtel are the top three network providers in India. But, from the price standpoint and the services offered, Jio is a no-brainer, thereby making the company a "price-maker."