Telecom Diary: Jio’s subscriber winning streak ends, Vodafone Idea back in action

The pandemic has spoilt the subscriber winning streak of India’s largest telecom player Reliance Jio.

Jio, which entered the telecom market in September 2016, with its free voice calls and dirt-cheap data tariffs had created a disruption in the sector.

Jio became the largest player within 3 years of launch after dislodging the then-largest telecom operator Airtel from its top position. The subscriber addition spree has been going on since the launch which just got hit by Covid. Jio lost over 11 million subscribers in the second quarter ended September at 429.5 million users as low-end mobile users did not recharge owing to financial difficulties due to the pandemic.