Reliance Jio Infocomm has managed to be on the second largest position by dislodging the Vodafone India and also closing the gap with the market leader Bharti AirtelNSE 1.56% on the score which is helped by the strong performance in the rural markets and the aggressive pricing which has left the rivals struggling.
Two years prior since the 4G services, Mukesh Ambani has controlled Jio’s RMS widened 253 basis points on the quarter to 22.4% at the end of June, the financial data which was put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(Trai) showed.
Vodafone India’s RMS has slumped 175 bps sequentially to 19.3%, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular’s share shrank 106 bps to 15.4%. Bharti Airtel’s RMS has dipped 12 bps on-quarter to 31.7% as it has staved off the impact of a cut in charges for receiveing the international calls in the first span, the analysts said.
ALSO READ: Say Goodbye To Negativity And Always Be Positive
Airtel’s RMS crept up from the 30.7% in the second span of the financial year 2018, ICICI Securities said in the analysis of the Trai data. However, Jio’s RMS during this period was doubled to 22.4% from 11.6%. “That Jio would surpass Vodafone India (independently) on RMS in the June quarter was expected, given its strong and sustained growth on this metric, but it now appears to be gradually getting within striking distance of Airtel,” Naveen Kulkarni, an analyst at PhillipCapital.
Vodafone and Idea has been losing the ground to Jio amid continuing the price wars. Both the companies need one final clearance from the company law tribunal for the formal completion of their merger that has gone past their expected June0end closure. “Jio is enjoying a freeway in B&C (telecom) circles, and its strong performance in the June quarter can particularly be attributed to the C-circles where its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) rose 17.2% sequentially, contributing 17% to the company’s overall AGR,” said the ICICI Securities.
The telco’s AGR is the revenue which was derived from the licensed services. Also, Jio has ranked fourth having more than 215 million users by the end of June. Jio, which started in September 2016 with a nationwide 4G network, reported an over 14% sequential jump in overall AGR (including national long distance revenue) to Rs 7,200 crore in the quarter ended June, while Airtel’s rose 0.9% on-quarter to Rs 10,200 crore, inclusive of 45 days revenue of Telenor India, a company it acquired in May.
“Positive movement in industry AGR bodes well for the sector, which suggests the trend will continue, driven by a rise in mobile broadband penetration and reduced ARPU down-trading,” said an analyst at a global brokerage who did not wish to be identified. Jain of ICICI Securities added that it remains to be seen “if Jio is able to sustain its strong performance in the B and C circles where incumbent carriers are fast expanding their 4G networks.”
ALSO READ: How To Overcome Negativity and Manifest Positive Energy In Your Life
