Reliance Jio wants India's 2G users. So it's killing 2G

Reliance Jio boasts the most mobile subscribers in the country, but its 4G-only network cuts it off from ~300 million 2G users. Desperate to convert them, Jio wants to get rid of India’s 2G networks altogether

One of Reliance Jio’s biggest strengths—its 4G-only network—is also one of its biggest weaknesses

It prevents Jio from onboarding India’s 300 million-strong 2G user market and keeps it out of govt contracts that require 2G as well

To get in on all this action, Jio wants a 2G-free India

While the market was set to naturally transition from 2G in the coming five years, Jio is desperate to speed this up

Like an ocean current, India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio is always in motion. Even when all seems still on the surface, it surges forward endlessly. All those caught in its path are carried kicking and screaming into deeper, unchartered waters, or drowned and relegated to the company of India’s other telco shipwrecks.

In just five short years, Jio surged from birth to utter dominance. Today, it boasts around 392 million users—around 70 million more than its nearest competitors, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea. The young telco also claims to have a complete 5G solution in the works.

AUTHOR

Pratap Vikram Singh

Pratap is based out of Delhi and covers policy and myriad intersections with the other sectors, most notably technology. He has worked with Governance Now for seven years, reporting on technology, telecom policy, and the social sector.

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