ET Graphics: Jio’s disruptive entry revolutionised India’s telecom market

When Reliance Industries started commercial telecom operations in September 2016 with brand Jio offering free voice and data services, it shook the foundation and business models of incumbents like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Group PLC and Idea Cellular (which were then separate entities) and forced a wave of consolidation. Eight years later, India is today known to have among the lowest telecom tariffs and world’s highest data consumption. This has boosted India’s digital transformation in areas like fi ntech, payments, ed-tech, quick commerce, healthcare and much more. Here’s a brief on Jio’s eight years: