Broadband
Reliance Jio to see phase-wise launch in 2015
MUMBAI: The annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries was much awaited. With the talk around the company only growing in the past few weeks after it acquired Network18, eyes were fixed on the probable outcome of this meeting. The 40th AGM which was held today, saw RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani highlighting the future of the much awaited 4G broadband network in the country under the brand of Reliance Jio.
“I had shared the vision of this initiative, Jio- of a digital India- last year and of the unique opportunity that we have to maximise the benefits of the digital age. Digital services will help contribute significantly to the Indian economy and help improve lives of our 1.25 billion countrymen,” he said while addressing shareholders at the AGM.
He also informed the shareholders that limited set of trials for Jio are already underway and the expanded trials would begin from August 2014 which would continue through 2014 and early 2015. “The year 2015 will see the phased launch of Reliance Jio across India. Millions of customers would have started to use the digital platform and services in their daily lives. The fruits of the tremendous value created by this (Jio) Rs 70,000 crore initiative would start to flow,” he stated.
The broadband service will cover all states at launch accounting for 90 per cent urban India and 215,000 villages. Eventually it will cover over 600,000 villages. “They would ensure that every Indian has access to the state-of-the-art digital connectivity and services that are on par with or better than anywhere else in the world,” said Ambani proudly.
Assuring the shareholders about its future, Ambani emphasised, “Reliance Jio will be one of the largest job-creating and wealth-creating business initiatives in India.” Currently 10,000 full time employees are working on Jio along with 30,000 professionals from Reliance’s partners and vendors across the world. This apart, he said that 100,000 people are working across India in creating the digital infrastructure backbone for the network. “Millions of new entrepreneurs and jobs can be expected to spring up in the tertiary and secondary sectors in new and innovative digital enterprises and services,” he added.
Throwing light on the reason for acquisition of Network18, Ambani said, “The acquisition through an open offer of Network18 media and investments and its subsidiary TV 18 broadcast by Independent Media Trust, the sole beneficiary of which is Reliance Industries is one aspect of the digital services play.” He stated that this would strengthen its 4G business at the intersect of telecom, web and digital commerce and the media through a suit of premiere digital properties.
The reason for strengthening its large projects, one of which is Jio is to get Reliance Industries closer finding its way into the presetigious list of Fortune 50 companies. He added: “Our efforts and focus over the next two years will be to intensify these initiatives and have them reach out to more citizens across the social spectrum. Reliance will be moving from investing in India’s economic future to integrating deeper with India’s social fabric.”
The AGM was also significant as it saw the appointment of Mukesh Ambani’s spouse Nita Ambani on the Reliance Industries board. Ambani stated that she was being appointed – as she was an “accomplished individual, the chairperson of the group’s CSR initiative, Reliance Foundation, which has done exceedingly well – “for furthering the group’s growth agenda.”
Industry watchers have been speculating whether she will have a role to play in the Network18 group, which RIL is in the process of acquiring totally. The megacorp has denied that this “will come to pass, at least for now.”
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Broadband
Airtel and Jio surge ahead as Vodafone Idea and BSNL lose subscribers in December
India’s mobile base rises in December, but gains skewed towards the top two operators
NEW DELHI: India’s telecom market ended 2025 with a familiar split: the leaders sprinting ahead, the laggards slipping further. Fresh data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) show Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio adding millions of wireless users in December, while Vodafone Idea and state-run BSNL continued to bleed subscribers.
India’s overall telephone subscriber base, wireless and wireline, climbed to 1.306 billion in December 2025, a monthly rise of 0.66 per cent. Growth was driven largely by wireless, which accounted for the bulk of new additions.
Bharti Airtel added 5.42 million wireless subscribers during the month, the biggest net gain among operators. Reliance Jio followed with roughly 2.96 million additions. Their gains were spread across multiple licensed service areas, underscoring broad-based momentum.
The story was starkly different for their rivals. Vodafone Idea recorded a net loss of about 9.4 lakh wireless subscribers, extending a run of monthly erosion. BSNL also saw its base shrink by around 2.06 lakh users. Despite marginal gains in a few circles, the PSU’s overall wireless base continued to contract.
Taken together, net wireless (mobile) additions across operators stood at 7.23 million in December.
Wireless subscribers, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), rose to 1.258 billion, a net monthly increase of 8.21 million. Wireless tele-density improved to 88.41 per cent, though the urban–rural divide remained wide: urban tele-density at 140.66 per cent versus 59.07 per cent in rural areas.
The wireline segment posted modest growth. Subscribers increased from 47.05 million in November to 47.37 million in December, a 0.68 per cent monthly rise. Urban areas continued to dominate, while rural wireline tele-density stayed low.
Broadband crossed a symbolic milestone, with total subscribers topping one billion to reach 1,007.35 million by December-end. Mobile wireless broadband remained the primary access mode. In fixed wireless access, 5G FWA subscribers grew 5.59 per cent month on month, signalling gradual uptake of next-generation services.
Yet churn remains high. TRAI noted that about 16.12 million subscribers submitted mobile number portability requests in December alone.
The scoreboard is clear: scale is breeding more scale at the top, while smaller players struggle to hold ground. In India’s brutally competitive telecom arena, December’s numbers show a market that is still growing, but not evenly—and momentum, for now, sits firmly with the frontrunners.
