Reliance Jio Welcome Offer has disrupted the telecom sector in a major way. The new network has forced the likes of Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea to come up with new offers and deals to retain user base. While Reliance Jio is offering free services till December 31st to all its customers, Airtel has now announced that it will move forward with cheaper tariffs, rather than free services.
Bharti Airtel is India’s largest telecom operator and is being pro-active about offering attractive data plans to its customers. Once the Reliance Jio Welcome Offer ends, the Airtel’s plan is likely to help the network in keeping its customers happy. Airtel states that the competing against Jio’s free services by offering its own services for free, is not the way forward.
“We may have to adjust some pricing in the context of competitive intensity. When that happens what you will see is a lot more consumption, for which you need more capacity. There we are well positioned, because we have got the spectrum,” said Gopal Vittal, chief executive, Airtel said in a statement.
According to Live Mint, Mittal also said that Jio’s offers may end up reducing the number of telecom providers in the market and lead to industry consolidation. So far, Reliance Jio has had a major effect on the telecom industry. Airtel has reported a 4.9 percent decline to Rs. 1,460 crore in net profit for the quarter till September 30. However, the telco has identified areas of improvements and hopes to recover soon.
“We have to reduce our operating costs by simplifying our processes, making our capital and capital expenditure much more efficient. We can really sweat the asset,” Vittal added.
Despite facing several roadblocks and oppositions, Reliance Jio is still growing at a constant rate. The network has reached 24 million users so far, thanks to its free 4G data offer. Additionally, it is also offering free HD calls to any network, even after the Welcome Offer ends.