iWorld
RIL’s Rs 2.35 lakh crore investments in Jio start to payoff
BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani-run Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has invested a massive amount of money into the largest start-up in the world–Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio). The RIL financials for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Q3 2018, quarter under review) showed that its digital services segment (Jio) had assets of Rs 234,986 crore, the largest asset block among any of the six segments (petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas, organised retail, digital services, and others) that the behemoth reports numbers for. And RIL reported net profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 504 crore for Q3 2018 as against net loss of Rs 271 crore during 2Q 2018, the immediate trailing quarter.
The digital services segment’s operating revenue for Q3 2108 was Rs 6,879 crore, up 11.9 percent from the Rs 6,147 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The value of services increased by 12.7 percent q-o-q to Rs 8,114 crore from Rs 7,197 crore, EBITDA almost doubled (increased by 82.1 percent) in the quarter under review to Rs 2,628 crore from Rs 1,443 crore in Q2 2018. EBIT almost quintupled (453.1 percent) to Rs 1,436 crore from Rs 260 crore.
Jio added 2.15 million net subscribers in Q3 2018 with an ARPU of Rs 154 per customer. The RIL earnings release for its digital services says that average data traffic per customer for the quarter was 9.6 GB per month and total wireless data traffic has crossed 431 crore GB. Video consumption on the Jio network has crossed 200 crore hours per month, averaging 13.4 hours per subscriber per month.
Commenting on the results, RIL chairman and managing director Ambani said, “I would like to thank all our customers for partnering with us in this revolution which has made India a global digital powerhouse. I congratulate all our employees and partners for the strong performance. Our commitment is to keep pushing newer innovative products which would radically transform customer lives and generate huge societal value.”
“Jio’s strong financial result reflects the fundamental strength of the business, significant efficiencies and right strategic initiatives. Jio has demonstrated that it can sustain its strong financial performance,” he concluded.
Organised retail business
Revenues for Q3 2018 grew by 116.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 18,798 crore from Rs 8,688 crore. PBDIT for Q3 2018 increased by 82.0 percent y-o-y to Rs 606 crore from Rs 333 crore. Reliance Retail witnessed stellar performance across all consumption baskets during the period. During the quarter, Reliance Retail added 72 stores across various store concepts and increased the area operated to 14.5 million square feet from 13.2 million square feet in Q3 2017.
RIL numbers
RIL’s consolidated revenue increased by 30.5 percent to Rs 109,905 crore in Q3 2018 from Rs 84,194 crore in Q3 2017. Net profit increased by 25.1 percent to Rs 9,423 crore in the quarter under review as compared with Rs 7,533 crore in Q3 2017.
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iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
