Sanford C Bernstein says that it expects Reliance Jio to continue selling the subsidised JioPhones until it becomes the market leader
According to the investment research firm, Sanford C Bernstein, Reliance Jio may become the market leader in the mobile network services in India by 2021 in terms of revenue. It said in a report that leading mobile operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea could not compete with Reliance as the latter continues to add more subscribers with time.
Chris Lane and Samuel Chen, analysts at Sanford C Bernstein, said that the average revenue per unit would probably rise for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea this year as they had cancelled user contracts that generate little revenue.
Reliance Jio’s free services
Reliance Jio has come up with offers to attract more subscribers. In 2017, it launched a free-for-life call service that triggered a price war and consolidation in India. It launched free 4G wireless services in 2016 and later started charging for the services in 2017. Currently, it has around 227 million users and with its expansion to remote villages in the country, the number is likely to be doubled.
The telecom giant has also introduced a series of new ventures to cater to every aspect of its consumers.
Reliance Jiophones
Sanford C Bernstein is expecting Jio to continue selling its subsidised JioPhones until it acquires the top position. It also hopes that the 3G/4G prices are not hiked until 2020.
Bernstein lowered its price targets for Bharti Airtel to Rs 450 a share and Vodafone Idea to Rs 40 a share. Bharti Airtel fell 2.1 per cent to Rs 297.45 as of 10:59 am in Mumbai, while Vodafone Idea dropped 1.9 per cent to Rs 33.15.
