Jio is largest standalone 5G network in the world, with 170 million users; attracting 70% of new 5G devices sold

Jio

Reliance Jio’s network is capturing 70 percent of the new 5G smartphones sold in India, significantly boosting its 5G subscriber base. The company surpassed 170 million 5G users in the December quarter, cementing its position as the largest standalone 5G operator outside China, according to Kiran Thomas, President of Jio Platforms.

“...thanks to the fact that we have this superlative, true network, which is a big differentiator vis a vis other competitor. Also, it means that of all new 5G devices that are sold in the market, 70 percent of them end up becoming Jio customers and using Jio services,” he said in the post-earning presentation on January 16.

“So literally, we are at the cusp where, probably in a very short period, we have not done the fastest 5G rollout, but 5G adoption anywhere in the world.”

He also said that the total 5G traffic on Jio’s networks will soon surpass the 4G traffic.

Jio is also seeing an increase in the run rate of customer addition, marking a reversal of the trend observed in the previous quarter, Anshuman Thakur, Jio Platforms’ Senior Vice President Anshuman Thakur, said in the post-earning presentation on January 16.

Jio’s subscriber base stood at 482.1 million at the end of December 2024, 2.4 percent higher year-on-year. Net subscriber addition in Q3FY25 was 3.3 million, with a rebound in mobility subscriber addition.

“The affordability, as well as increasing engagement, should sustain both the subscriber growth run rate as well as the ARPU growth in the in the coming quarters, as well a bunch of new services and media offerings that we’re providing to our customers, we expect to get, further improve the customer wallet share that we have,” Thakur said.

Jio’s ARPU, a key performance indicator, has increased at a 10 percent CAGR over the last five years. Jio’s ARPU rose to Rs 203.3 from Rs 195.1 in Q2 due to the tariff hike and a better subscriber mix.

Thakur said the full impact of the tariff hike is yet to play out fully.

“...the full impact of the July 24 tariff hike, part of that impact has already played through in the last two quarters, but the full impact is still playing out as we have subscribers who are on longer term plans and who tend to recharge over a more extended period of time, and therefore we expect some more flow through to happen as well,” Thakur added.

The executives also said that the availability of JioAirFiber, the FWA 5G service, has unlocked the pent-up demand beyond the country’s top 1,000 cities and towns.

Jio said the three months ended December 31, which was a record quarter for home connects with 2 million new additions. JioAirFiber is rapidly growing to global leadership with a subscriber base of 4.5 million.

Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital services unit of India’s largest conglomerate and parent of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, reported a 26 percent increase in quarterly profit to Rs 6,861 crore in the third quarter from a year earlier.

JPL revenue from operations rose 19.4 percent to Rs 33,074 crore in the December quarter from Rs 27,697 crore a year earlier, driven by growth primarily driven by the partial impact of the tariff hike and the scale-up of home and digital services businesses.

JPL’s EBITDA increased 18.8 percent to Rs 16,585 crore in the December quarter from Rs 13,955 crore a year ago, led by healthy revenue growth.

Reliance Jio reported Q3 operating revenue at Rs 29,307 crore, up 15.5 percent year-on-year from Rs 25,368 crore in the same period last year. EBITDA stood at Rs 15,798 crore in the December quarter with 17.7 percent year-on-year growth compared to Rs 13,422 crore in an earlier year period led by higher revenues and margin at 53.9 percent.